Politicians will not put forth programs aimed at the problems of poor blacks while their turnout remains so low.

In America there is institutional racism that we all inherit and participate in, like breathing the air in this room - and we have to become sensitive to it.

The story of the African-American people is the story of the settlement and growth of America itself, a universal tale that all people should experience.

The first step toward tolerance is respect and the first step toward respect is knowledge.

The thing about black history is that the truth is so much more complex than anything you could make up.

In Ethiopia, the black people became Christians 1700 years ago, hundreds of years before Northern Europe turned to Christianity... And here, most of the saints are black.

We can revolutionize the attitude of inner city brown and black kids to learning. We need a civil rights movement within the African-American community.

I want to be a figure for prison reform. I think that the criminal justice system is rotten.

Censorship is to art as lynching is to justice.

Wherever you go in the history of America, there have been Black people making contributions, but their contributions have been obscured, lost, buried.

Well, certainly one of the ironies of the success of affirmative action is that the middle class within the black community no longer lives within 'black community' by and large.

The best bought-up children are those who have seen thier parents as they are. Hypocrisy is not the first duty of a parent.

I think my style is kind of a cross between a skater hippie and an R&B star. If there were something I was going to endorse, it would probably be something like sneakers. Something that would be me.

Your best as an artist is to create something that resonates for you.

I am evidence that you don't have to sell a lot of records or succeed in the usual way to have a big audience and a job.

The simple fact is that there is a limited amount of water on the planet, and we cannot afford to be negligent in its use. We cannot keep treating it as if it will never run out.

You never know when it is your last game or your last tournament.

If you are following the dharma no matter what you do it is moral.

...true self-esteem comes from competence, not the other way around.

I believe the world is as we choose to view it. Simple as that. Our happiness is, in the end, up to us, and to no one else.

Our ultimate weapon is not our guns but our beliefs...The spread of freedom is the best security for the free. It is our last line of defense and our first line of attack.