"I write about black people because I am black."

"The past has been a mint of blood and sorrow. That must not be true of tomorrow."

"Life is for the living, not for the dead."

"I would like to be a part of a world where people are not judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

"Negroes, sweet and docile, meek, humble, and kind: Beware the day they change their mind!"