Black people have always been used as a buffer in this country between powers to prevent class war.

All art is knowing when to stop.

I have a lot of respect for readers because I'm a reader. That's how I got into writing.

Please don't settle for happiness. It's not good enough. Of course you deserve it, but if that's all you have in mind - happiness - I want to suggest to you that personal success devoid of meaningfulness, free of a steady commitment to social justice - that's more than a barren life. It's a trivial one.

If happiness is anticipation with certainty, we were happy.

They had stared at her with great uncomprehending eyes. Eyes that questioned nothing and asked everything. Unblinking and unabashed, they stared up at her. The end of the world lay in their eyes, and the beginning, and all the waste in bewteen.

When a child walks in the room, your child or anybody else’s child, do your eyes light up? That’s what they’re looking for.