No matter was the professional talkers tell you, I never met a black boy who wanted to fail.

I thank my mother (Ma, you're only second cause you got the dedication), who used to make me write essays whenever I got into trouble, explaining exactly what I'd done and why I'd done it.

On our life map, he drew a bright circle around twelve through eighteen. This was the abyss where, unguided, black boys were swallowed whole, only to reemerge on corners and prison tiers.

This is one of those stories where the feeling of the moment stands in for visual details.

What is there in this big wide world for a man to talk about with certainty besides his homeland, home and family?

Faith in God will elevate you to next level blessings.

That deep silence has a melody of its own, a sweetness unknown amid the harsh discords of the world's sounds.

Victory at all costs victory in spite of all terror victory however long and hard the hard may be for without victory there is no survival.

The President's post should not be politicised. Once a president is elected, he is above politics.

The fact that there are people who criticize me doesn't mean that people hate me.

When I meet successful people I ask 100 questions as to what they attribute their success to. It is usually the same: persistence, hard work and hiring good people.

This was charming, no doubt; but they shortly found out That the Captain they trusted so well Had only one notion for crossing the ocean, And that was to tingle his bell.

I was supposed to be a doctor. I was supposed to go to Princeton. And everything I was supposed to do I didn't.

When life demands more of people than they demand of life - as is ordinarily the case - what results is a resentment of life almost as deep-seated as the fear of death