Self-esteem is like a difficult-to-cultivate flower. It requires frequent nurturing that occurs when you keep your word and follow through on your promises.

It appears that my worst fears have been realised: we have made progress in everything yet nothing has changed.

I live to harass white folks.

Slavery is, as an example of what white America has done, a constant reminder of what white America might do.

All ethical people strive to choose "right" over "easy" when confronted by situations that force them to choose one or the other.

The challenge throughout has been to tell what I view as the truth about racism without causing disabling despair.

My wife says I spend my life trying to teach white folks. I'm not so sure I'm proud of it, but she's right.

A rule without exceptions is an instrument capable of doing mischief to the innocent and bringing grief - as well as injustice - to those who should gain exemptions from the rule's functioning.

Few whites are ready to actively promote civil rights for blacks.

Courage is a finite resource, it is exhausted by the terrors we face.

Loneliness is not a result of physical isolation

Commitment = Destiny

In dreams, we enter a world that’s entirely our own.

In the land of the skunk the man with half a nose is king!

You made me lose my appetite, Boomer." "My mom tells me that all the time. Your family must be just like mine!

Anton Bruckner wrote the same symphony nine times, trying to get it just right. He failed.

Always to be best, and distinguished above the rest.

Marriage is a commitment, not a feeling.

What I've come to realize is that emotional intelligence, which I define as buoyancy, was the only way I knew how to lead, and is, in my option, the only way to inspire real change.

A lot of the time writers are just sponges... for what's around them, and so books are helpful for focusing your mind and literally putting it into words.