The best thing about living... Is the chance to keep on doing it!

Don't be afraid to feel as angry or as loving as you can, because when you feel nothing, it's just death.

Always be smarter than the people who hire you.

I'm me, and I'm like nobody else.

My identity is very clear to me now, I am a black woman.

Nobody black or white who really believes in democracy can stand aside now; everybody's got to stand up and be counted.

You have to be taught to be second class; you're not born that way.

You wouldn't be allowed to get on a particular bus, but you'd be asked to sign your autograph.

You have to be taught to be second class; you're not born that way. But the slanting process is so subtle that you frequently don't realize how you're being slanted until very late in the game.

I found out along the way that they like you a little imperfect.

A little nepotism never hurt nobody, honey. If you got it, use it. Press on with it. Remind them of it.

Nobody can learn for another. Only we can teach ourselves.

I want everyday magic.

...I feel like a traitor, a phony, a fake. But I am a hypocrite with the best intentions, and I need kissing desperately.

The truth is, I'm proud of the life I've lived so far, and though I've made my share of mistakes, I have no regrets.

I've got little ankles and a bit of a belly, so it makes me look rather an egg on legs.

I have a tendency to kick it up. I like to rattle the cage.

It was my fans who made me a star.

I don't find it easy dealing with people with drug problems. It helps if you're all taking drugs, all the same drugs.

To aim to convert a man by miracles is a profanation of the soul.

Go by your own conscience.