Lincoln would love the fact that Obama is such a great conciliator, trying to transcend ideology.

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.

Happiness is a perception—not a possession.

You would not believe what skill, power and ability your total intelligence possesses until you lose your balance.

Difficulty is only a matter of the willingness to do.

Greasy burgers and fries are so much more delicious than swallowing a cow whole.

Evolution is the fundamental idea in all of life science - in all of biology.

If you become a viral star, that is terrific!

I want to be a saint, a real saint while I am young, for there is so much work to do.

America is fascinated with seeing people have nothing and turn it to something.

A long time ago, I made the commitment to dedicate at least one song per album to God. He has been very good to me, and never for one minute do I want Him to think I've forgotten, because I haven't.

When we love, we are the universe and the universe lives in us.