I write because I am a Black woman, listening attentively to her people.

Nothing will work unless you do.

A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.

Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.

We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.

Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. Please remember that your difficulties do not define you. They simply strengthen your ability to overcome.

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style

If you are always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be.

You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!

We feel the most balance when we're not dividing ourselves on other people's scales.

Predator and prey move in silent gestures, on the seductive dance of death, in the shadows cast by the vultures of the night. ☥

I had an idea and I wanted just to make it work. And I am never, ever secure on the set that what I am doing is going to translate to the screen. It never changes.

I'm not an animal lover if that means you think things are nice if you can pat them, but I am intoxicated by animals.

The fact is that between the classes there is a vast gulf that precludes all mutual understanding, and makes simultaneous efforts simply impossible.

Since I was 13 or 14, I've always felt older than I actually am.

I think talent, especially in acting, is being wholly yourself within the context of yourself.

You can't just pretend that the things you watch, and the things you hear, and the places you go will not have an impact on your character. They will.

Fashion has to reflect who you are, what you feel at the moment, and where you're going.

I’m not afraid of dying. Pieces of me die all the time.