“It becomes more and more difficult to avoid the idea of black men as subjects of not just racial profiling but of an insidious form of racial obliteration sanctioned by silence.”

Within the universe of the extraordinary, those qualities we designate to human concepts of gender are often shared, exchanged, or even completely obliterated.

War poisons the land Like diseased minds downloaded/ into bowls of tears.

When reading about what may be described as the lesser celebrated heroic figures of the Harlem Renaissance,

History dressed up in the glow of love’s kiss turned grief into beauty.

The act of writing itself is much like the construction of a mirror made of words.

Hope drowned in shadows emerges fiercely splendid–– boldly angelic.

They may have for their lives, or, exercising sufficient strength of will to make those dreams a reality.

Groping their way through suffocating shadows of political turmoil, economic oppression, military mayhem, starvation, and disease.

Writing for me is a form of spiritual discipline and creative vision, a means of being in the world and giving one’s love to it without compromise or dilution.

First gave in to the urge to pray to their sense of something greater than themselves and interpreted certain signs or events or silences as responses to those prayers.

Know yourself fearlessly (even quietly) for all the things you are.

A horn of plenty spills from your hands into the starved lives of millions.

Unless you are here: this garden refuses to exist. Pink dragonflies fall from the air and become scorpions scratching blood out of rocks.

Someone had to embrace positive beginnings before anyone could celebrate successful conclusions or continuations.

Art gives its vision to beauty not always recognized. And it surrenders freely — whatever power it possesses to every sincere soul that seeks it. But above all else–it presents us with the gift of ourselves.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela might be measured in part by the profound and unique gestures made by people in different countries to honor his life upon learning of his death.

For a stretch of time, I got really caught up in the idea that what people liked about my work was that I was a young guy.

When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them.

Always, with any movie that I do, I have a book of ideas that I’ve heard, or seen, or whatever, and I always try to incorporate it in the film.

The problem to me with environmentalism is the idea that we’re all gonna die and we need to save ourselves.

I’m a filmmaker, I’m a storyteller, an entertainer, if you will, so what can I do to participate?

The danger is that if you have a bunch of ideas that you forget to use.

Songs, ideas, even paintings are pouring out of me.

As children, we have a tenuous idea of love.