“We built a coalition of conscience, and that we can do it again, and we can go forward, and help redeem the soul of America.”

I met Rosa Parks when I was 17. I met Dr. [Martin Luther] King when I was 18. These two individuals inspired me to find a way to get in the way, to get in trouble. So I got in good trouble, necessary trouble.

When people tell me nothing has changed, I say come walk in my shoes and I will show you change.

When growing up, I saw segregation. I saw racial discrimination. I saw those signs that said white men, colored men. White women, colored women. White waiting. And I didn’t like it.

We are one community, one family. Really, we are the American family.

Freedom is not a state; it is an act.

A democracy cannot thrive where power remains unchecked and justice is reserved for a select few.

We need someone who will stand up and speak up and speak out for the people who need help, for people who are being discriminated against.

Every generation leaves behind a legacy. What that legacy will be is determined by the people of that generation. What legacy do you want to leave behind?

You have to have hope. You have to be optimistic in order to continue to move forward.

If you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have a moral obligation to do something about it.

We must continue to go forward as one people, as brothers and sisters.

I truly believe that one day we will get there, we will arrive. And if we do it right in America, maybe, just maybe, we can serve as a model for the rest of the world.

We may not have chosen the time, but the time has chosen us.

I say from time to time that the vote is precious.

Without our faith, we wouldn’t have been able to succeed.

The vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have.

By the time I got writing ‘Halcyon,’ I was on a roll, and I realized I had so much to write about, I realized I had so much built up inside that I couldn’t really alleviate before, and then all of a sudden it was like reservoir burst.

In this ever-changing society, the most powerful and enduring brands are built from the heart.

If you survive long enough, you’re revered – rather like an old building.

Really good things take time to grow. Foundation is not built over night.

The girl who swears no one has ever made love to her has a right to swear.

I’m choosing to build castle out of the things that nearly destroy me.

Do not settle in the dirt. Get up and make something from it.

Character is not something we inherit. Character is something we have to wake up and build.