I speak to the black experience, but I am always talking about the human condition.

This is my life. it is my one time to be me. i want to experience every good thing.

I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.

You have to have courage to love somebody. Because you risk everything. Everything.

Poetry puts starch in your backbone so you can stand, so you can compose your life.

Love liberates. It doesn't just hold - that's ego. Love liberates. It doesn't bind.

Your life is much more important that you can imagine... it is your first treasure.

When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature.

There's a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth.

I did work in a strip club, but I didn't strip. I danced, and I became very popular.

Living a life is like constructing a building: if you start wrong, you'll end wrong.

Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between.

Be certain that you do not die without having done something wonderful for humanity.

It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.

The world had taken a deep breath and was having doubts about continuing to revolve.

We are here to love each other. That is why you are alive. That is what life is for.

I'm just someone who likes cooking and for whom sharing food is a form of expression.

Laugh...It's the sweetest thing one can do for oneself and one's fellow human beings.

Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, I maintain an attitude of gratitude.

I had given up some youth for knowledge, but my gain was more valuable than the loss.

If you have a song to sing, who are you not to open your mouth and sing to the world?

If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.

A wise woman wishes to be no one's enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone's victim.

Most plain girls are virtuous because of the scarcity of opportunity to be otherwise.

Nothing succeeds like success. Get a little success, and then just get a little more.

I refuse to allow any man-made differences to separate me from any other human beings.

The trouble for the thief is not how to steal the chief’s bugle, but where to blow it.

To make a difference is not a matter of accident...People CHOOSE to make a difference.

It's true. I can do anything and do it well because God loves me. It still humbles me.

Tragedy, no matter how sad, becomes boring to those not caught in its addictive caress.

My son is the best thing that ever happened to me. And through me - to a lot of people.

The problem I have with haters is that they see my glory, but they don't know my story.

If you're going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can't be erased.

Courage is the most important of all the virtues, without it, you can practice no other.

My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy.

Let choice whisper in your ear and love murmur in your heart. Be ready. Here comes life.

Dr. [Martin Luther] King was a human being. He had a sense of humor which was wonderful.

I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people.

If our children are to approve of themselves, they must see that we approve of ourselves.

In an unfamiliar culture, it is wise to offer no innovations, no suggestions, or lessons.

My pride had been starched by a family who assumed unlimited authority in its own affairs.

I have no modesty. Modesty is a learned affectation. It's like decal stuck up on a person.

Most people don't grow up. It's too damn difficult. What happens is most people get older.

I long for the time when all human history is taught as one history, because it really is.

Exchange love for hate...Thereby, making the present comfortable and the future promising.

I think that that's the wisest thing - to prevent illness before we try to cure something.

I am not competing with anyone other than myself. I want to be excellent at whatever I do.

You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right.

Look what you've already come through! Don't deny it. Say I'm stronger than I thought I was

You build your 'COURAGE MUSCLE' daily, by being courageous in little things. Just do right.

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