I was born and raised in the oldest settled part of the nation and in an environment in which racism was officially mooted.

Living at the YMCA in Harlem dramatically broadened my view of the world.

Something which we think is impossible now is not impossible in another decade.

I remember being infuriated from the top of my head to the tip of my toes the first time a screen was put around Bob Carter and me on a train leaving Washington in the 1940s.

Lack of encouragement never deterred me. I was the kind of person who would not be put down.

There appears to be no limit as to how far the women's revolution will take us.

I grew up in a house where nobody had to tell me to go to school every day and do my homework.

When I was 15, I decided I wanted to be a lawyer. No one thought this was a good idea

Sexism, like racism, goes with us into the next century. I see class warfare as overshadowing both.

King consciously steered away from legal claims and instead relied on civil disobedience.

All Southern state colleges and universities are open to black students.

All I know about humour is that I don't know anything about it.

Freaks become norms, and norms become extinct. Monster by monster, evolution advanced

Athletes need to enjoy their training. They don't enjoy going down to the track with a coach making them do repetitions until they're exhausted. From enjoyment comes the will to win.

If you’re living in the present...you only have to deal with what’s actually going on in that moment.

You've left me with a kaleidoscope of broken smiles and shattered dreams.

My will is not a place, but a condition. Do not ask Me where and when, but ask Me how.

They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.

America is a country ready to be taken - in fact, longing to be taken - by political leaders ready to restore democracy and trust to the political process.

Once there are good sentences on the page, I can feel a loyalty to them and start following their logic, and take refuge from myself.

I swear, I end up feeling empty, like you've taken something out of me and I have to search my body for scars.