All Quotes

Obviously, since 9/11, here in this country there has been a resurgence of fear and people feeling distrustful of other people that are different. And what we chose to do was to focus on people coming together, working across those barriers of race, of culture, of religion, and really finding a heart connection. ”

You see, for the most part it was a normal upbringing. Sure, there was the Nobel Peace award; sure, there were people coming to our house who I knew were famous. But we grew up in a very modest part of the community. Our last home was in what had been one of the worst ghettos in Atlanta. ”

I am an artist with very strong social and political concerns. ”

What just resonates with me so strongly is my whole spirituality and the fact that we are, my belief that we are spiritual beings having a human experience. ”

We've not reached the promised land. We're still wandering around, bumping into each other in the wilderness of ignorance and hate. That is why the King holiday is so important. ”

When you say 'the man of the house,' the black woman has been the woman and the man of the house, because black men have so often had to spend all of their time and energy working and trying, at least, to give their families the basic needs. So black women, I find, are not really concerned about women's liberation. ”

Broadway musicals like 'Ain't Misbehavin',' 'Eubie' and 'Bubblin' Brown Sugar' depict blacks having a light, wonderful time and that was just not so for blacks in the '20s and '30s. ”

By the time I was 12, I had decided to be an artist. ”

I struggled with a lot of the legacy for a long time, probably actually into my 30s before I really made peace with it. ”

Really just about the only remembrance I have from when I was very young is the way Daddy used to place me on the refrigerator and then say, ‘Jump!' and I'd jump into his arms. It was so much fun for me that even when I got too large for it to happen, I still wanted to do it anyway!" ”