"It is the curse of the black race to be forever looking backward, forever remembering."

"The greatest asset of a race is its culture."

"It’s a funny thing, the less people have to live for, the less nerve they have to risk losing nothing."

"Love is like the sea. It's a moving thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from the shore it meets, and it's different with every shore."

"The greatest joy of my life has been to be a Negro woman."