I know black women in Tennessee who have worked all their lives, from the time they were twelve years old to the day they died. These women don't listen to the women's liberation rhetoric because they know that it's nothing but a bunch of white women who had certain life-styles and who want to change those life-styles.

I ran and ran and ran every day, and I acquired this sense of determination, this sense of spirit that I would never, never give up, no matter what else happened.

I don't know why I run so fast. I just run.

But when you come from a large, wonderful family, there's always a way to achieve your goals.

When the sun is shining I can do anything; no mountain is too high, no trouble too difficult to overcome.

Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.

My doctor told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.