“Some problems we share as women, some we do not.”

For women, then, poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence.

We do not have to romanticize our past in order to be aware of how it seeds our present.

The erotic has often been misnamed by men and used against women.

For each of us as women, there is a dark place within, where hidden and growing our true spirit rises, beautiful and tough as chestnut stanchions against our nightmare of weakness.

I learned so much from listening to people. And all I knew was, the only thing I had was honesty and openness.

I am deliberate and afraid of nothing.

Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change, a bridge across our fears of what has never been before.

We have to consciously study how to be tender with each other until it becomes a habit because what was native has been stolen from us, the love of Black women for each other.

I believe one of the hardest things you can do is conquer your fears, but if you have a goal, then it’s your job to open up and let it be real no matter how scary it seems.

I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.

Tomorrow belongs to those of us who conceive of it as belonging to everyone; who lend the best of ourselves to it, and with joy.

If they cannot love and resist at the same time, they probably will not survive.

If they cannot love and resist at the same time, they probably will not survive.

When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.

Construct templates for possible futures, and focus our rage for change upon our enemies rather than upon each other.

How hard it is to sleep in the middle of life.

Everything is a battlefield. If you fight with anger, you are part of the problem. If you fight with joy, you’re part of the solution.

If I’d known how many problems I was going to run into before I finished, I can’t remember a single project I would have started.

My problem is that people get intimidated by someone big and beautiful like me. They hate to think I can be smart as well.

I endured many weeks of it, but I had a big background in martial arts and fighting as a kid, so kind of all the problems got brushed away and I was ready.

All were artists, playing foolish, having fights and making love as if the rest of the world had no racial problems whatsoever.

Through failure, I found different ways to reverse my problems and get into the mainstream of Hollywood.

I really like older British guys – I don’t think any of them would ever have a problem with crying in front of a woman or saying “I love you” or “You hurt me” or emotional stuff like that.

Let’s face it; God has a big ego problem. Why do we always have to worship him?