My parents absolutely did not think of themselves as part of the Great Migration. They knew they were part of a great wave. No one really talked about it in those terms or gave it a name.

You must leave this world a better place than it would have been if you had not existed.

It occurred to me that no matter where I lived, geography could not save me.

People leave when life becomes untenable where they are.

America is made up of people who came from someplace else. Even the Native Americans came over the Bering strait... America is what it is because people came from someplace else.

It was illegal for black people and white people to play checkers together in Birmingham. And there were even black and white Bibles to swear to tell the truth on in many parts of the South.

[The Great Migration] had such an effect on almost every aspect of our lives - from the music that we listen to to the politics of our country to the ways the cities even look and feel.

From Louisiana, he followed the hyphens in the road that blurred together toward a faraway place, bridging unrelated things as hyphens do.

Maybe it’s time to set aside intellectualism and experience the wonders of things that can’t be explained.

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

I distrust camels, and anyone else who can go a week without a drink.

I went to church with my grandparents sometimes and I loved it.

In case there is any question in your mind," he said, cupping her face with his hands. "What I want, what I most desire, the loveliest sight on this dark earth, is you.

There is a guilty conscience behind every brazen word and act and behind every manifestation of self-righteousness.

Poetry and beauty are always making peace. When you read something beautiful you find coexistence; it breaks walls down.

I can't stop [Donald Trump] from doing what he wants to do.

Wherever my story takes me, however dark and difficult the theme, there is always some hope and redemption, not because readers like happy endings, but because I am an optimist at heart.

I try not to read best-dressed lists or anything like that. For every good thing, there will often be a not-so-nice thing people would say.