I couldn't speak well. I went to speech therapy for 10 years. And I was sort of frustrated in that sense.

On the streets of the city They have taken my Who-I-Am As well as my What-I-Was And now I am desperate for them both Again

I read a lot of comic books and any kind of thing I could find. One day, a teacher found me. She grabbed my comic book and tore it up. I was really upset, but then she brought in a pile of books from her own library. That was the best thing that ever happened to me.

We need to tell young people that America was built by men and women of all colors and that the future of this country is dependent on the participation of all of our citizens.

It's a hard life sometimes and the biggest temptation is to let how hard it is be an excuse to weaken

New York is my favorite city.

With my writing, what I want to do is humanize the young people I write about.