I'm a prison abolitionist because the prison system as it is set up is just not working. It's horrible.

If your dream only includes you, it's too small.

Be passionate and move forward with gusto every single hour of every single day until you reach your goal.

Figure out what you need to do to be the heroine of your own story.

Don't wait for permission to do something creative.

If you're doing something outside of dominant culture there's not an easy place for you. You will have to do it yourself.

When you're in your lane, there's no traffic.

We have to find new ways to work without permission, new ways to turn corners and go through doors that are closed off to us to create our own audiences and our own material independently.

I've passed along some advice that Oprah [Winfrey] gave to me: When something bad is happening, it's not happening to you; it's happening for you.

Stop asking, start doing.

If your work is solid, it really doesn't matter what people you know because good work starts to rise to the top.

Share them with only people who can help you with information and support. When you meet negative people, zip your mouth.

You can hear a song in every word if you listen closely enough.

The light shines brightly in the darkness.

It is in the quiet that you gain perspective when you have to deal with the loud.

Before you can brighten the corner where you are, you must first develop dislike for the initial dull corner you once endured. You can’t change what you are comfortable with.

Words are like diamonds. Polish them too much, and all you get are pebbles.

Temperament, you'll find, is highly dependent on time of day, weather, frequency of naps, and whether one has had enough to eat.

The government would have preferred not to take a stand, but the constant presence of the Israeli-Arab conflict on our television screens made it an issue that could no longer be avoided.

He gave me something that day... something I wanted to protect. And when it was taken from me I learned how small I was. I vowed to never again care for someone so much, I couldn't bear to lose them.

And I believe the truth is mighty, and shines by its own light.