Because Lincoln is so closely identified with what it is to be American, everyone wants to claim him, to rewrite his story to satisfy their own particular needs.

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.

I had less and became more.

Once again...welcome to my house. Come freely. Go safely; and leave something of the happiness you bring.

One in All All in One-- If only this is realized, No more worry about your not being perfect (175)

Over the years, we have lost millions of decent paying jobs. These trade agreements have forced wages down in America so the average worker in America today is working longer hours for lower wages.

I am full of gratitude for my life - and for this house.

If somebody has a bad heart, they can plug this jack in at night as they go to bed and it will monitor their heart during the night, and in the morning, when they wake up dead, there'll be a record.

I like having my hands in the clay. I like the movie-making process.

When it comes to the care of our common home, we are living at a critical moment of history.

Sometimes, I work a little more from emotion than I do from rational thought.

Nobody could have prepared me for the life I've had to become accustomed to.