Black people have always been used as a buffer in this country between powers to prevent class war.

For a long time I was convinced that the conflict between Jewish people and black people in this country was a media event.

A lot of black people believe that Jews in this country have become white. They behave like white people rather than Jewish people.

I'm always annoyed about why black people have to bear the brunt of everybody else's contempt. If we are not totally understanding and smiling, suddenly we're demons.

Most of our lives are spent in little towns, little towns all throughout the country. That's where we live. And that's where the juices come from and that's where we made it, not made it in terms of success but made who we are.

Black literature is taught as sociology, as tolerance, not as a serious, rigorous art form.