We grew up in abject poverty. Acting, writing scripts and skits were a way of escaping our environment at a very young age.

You cannot live to please everyone else. You have to edify, educate and fulfill your own dreams and destiny.

They say the two most important days in a person's life were the day you were born and the day you discover why you were born.

Do not live someone else's life and someone else's idea of what womanhood is. Womanhood is you. Womanhood is everything that's inside of you.

When your passion and drive are bigger than your fears, you just dive.

When you pray, God puts people in your life to lead you when you cannot lead yourself.

You can't be hesitant about who you are.

Let me tell you something: The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.

I don’t want anyone putting any limits on me.

I don't have any time to stay up all night worrying about what someone who doesn't love me has to say about me.

All you really need to do is shift people just a tiny bit for change to happen. It doesn't have to be huge and humongous.

I am an educated black woman in a time when educated black people will be called upon to risk everything for the rights of black people everywhere.

You can learn little from victory. You can learn everything from defeat.

The road is not a problem. It's not any more tempting. People don't come up with giant bags of drugs or gallons of alcohol and say, 'You've got to do this.' It happens to me more at home.

Accusations are useless.

The script is the coloring book that you’re given, and your job is to figure out how to color it in. And also when and where to color outside the lines.

I want to make it clear,if there is ever a conflict [between environmental quality and economic growth], I will go for beauty, clean air, water, and landscape.

I'm an athlete. I go out there and fight my heart out.

You should be a pleasing personality. Instead of thinking about how you should be pleased, I don't like this, I don't do like that, instead of, what have I done to please others?

The tomb in Palestine Is not the porch of spirits lingering. It is the grave of Jesus, where he lay.