A lot of black people believe that Jews in this country have become white. They behave like white people rather than Jewish people.

Language alone protects us from the scariness of things with no names. Language alone is meditation.

If you can only be tall because someone else is on their knees, then you have a serious problem. And white people have a very, very serious problem.

We read about how Ajax and Achilles will die for each other, but very little about the friendship of women.

I merged those two words, black and feminist, because I was surrounded by black women who were very tough and and who always assumed they had to work and rear children and manage homes.

We're all surrounded by what I call faux language, fake language of commerce, of news media.

Misery colored by the greens and blues in my mother's voice took away all the grief out of the words and left me with a conviction that pain was not only endurable, it was sweet.