Sept. 11 jolted America out of its second gilded age.

There will be those who will tell you that you can't make it because of how you look, because of the way you talk. We all have heard that - I almost listened.

Slavery is nothing to joke about! And the history of this nation's [the USA's] involvement with slavery is nothing to pass off in a joke.

What is blackness? Is it the way you talk? Do you got to say, 'Dey this, dey dat.' Or the way you dress? Or is it the forgiving of certain things? What is black enough?

You don't ever earn a right to stop doing anything if you feel there is an obligation to move in terms of public service.

Suppose something would happen to the president, who would be in charge? The Vice President. Joe Biden? You have got to be kidding today when you say the Taliban's not our enemy.

In the class that I teach at one University, I stress that my one-word definition of politics is money. You can't name a subject matter that money doesn't touch.

My experience politically has always been that one-word definition of politics: money. Keep your eye on the buck. And that tells you where the American people are going to be.

The first black president will be a politician who is black.

Certain black leaders would believe that you have to go through their prism: 'If I lay my hand on you, you're OK.' So many people have made a living off of the pimping of race.

Africa is not a country, but it is a continent like none other. It has that which is elegantly vast or awfully little.

...you disappoint me -I am the worst liar in the world - I can't hide my pain or my need so I make a bouquet of my sorrows and give them to you ...

To enjoy a stress free life, enjoy what you have-not what you think you deserve.

Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. The cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.

Men of principle are sure to be bold, but those who are bold may not always be men of principle.

Life is not simple, and therefore history, which is past life, is not simple.

[ Negro leaders] never let the white man know exactly what black people are thinking.

If you do not let go of thinking about forms, you will not understand what I am showing.

Continue to plant a kiss of concern on the cheek of the sick and the aged and infirm and count that actions as natural and to be expected.

Word of mouth is the most effective means of communication.