Troubled times do call for troubled songs, songs that unsettle our souls and our spirits unapologetically.

The data is going to indicate sadly that when the Obama administration is over, black people will have lost ground in every single leading economic indicator category.

The choices we make about the lives we live determine the kinds of legacies we leave.

Don't envy someone else's gift. Discover your own.

The storm came. Lives were washed away. Ancient pains resurfaced. Now it is time for a sea of change.

Sometimes rejection in life is really redirection.

I believe if we make black America better, we make all of America better.

We need to elect leaders who understand that leadership is about loving and serving people, not about self-advancement.

Regardless of your race, religion or political affiliation, never hesitate to question those in authority.

Poverty and wealth inequality are a form of instability into the future.

Capitalism is like a child: if you want the child to grow up free and productive, somebody's got to look over the shoulder of that child.

Nothing spoils romance so much as a sense of humor in the woman

If we really are spiritual beings living a physical existence, then we have incredible power.

To establish the kingdom of love is to live in dominion

We slid along water reds and greens, the changing lights captured in the canvas of wet tar.

Sanctuary cities are a lot like hitchhiking. And the abstract, it feels really good until you feel dead.

They who load us with insults and ignominies give us the means of acquiring treasures more precious than any that man can gain in this life.

I'm certainly not sorry that there were some things I missed. You may think you're missing something at that time but later when you look at it, you didn't miss anything.

Happy the man who, like Ulysses, has made a fine voyage, or has won the Golden Fleece, and then returns, experienced and knowledgeable, to spend the rest of his life among his family!

To make peace, our hearts must be at peace with the world.

It's nice to be able to forget.