Each of us has the right and the responsibility to assess the roads which lie ahead and . . . if the future road looms ominous or unpromising . . . then we need to gather our reslove and . . . step off . . . into another direction.

The most called-upon prerequisite of a friend is an accessible ear.

Here on the pulse of this new day,
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister's eyes, into
Your brother's face, your country
And say simply,
Very simply,
With hope,
Good Morning.

I speak to the black experience, but I am always talking about the human condition -- about what we can endure, dream, fail at, and still survive.

I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass.