I think race has been a burden for black Americans. Being Muslim has also been a challenge because so many people do not understand Islam.

I think black Americans expect too much from individual black Americans in terms of changing the status quo.

In a typical history book, black Americans are mentioned in the context of slavery or civil rights. There's so much more to the story.

I did a book in 1996, an overview of black history. In that process I became more aware of a lot of the black inventors of the 19th century.

I think that the good and the great are only separated by the willingness to sacrifice.

In athletics there's always been a willingness to cheat if it looks like you're not cheating. I think that's just a quirk of human nature.