There was so much meanness in the atmosphere, ... but marvelous things pierce through the darkness of poverty and racism. You meet all kinds of people that help put life in perspective and turn the horror into some kind of lesson or avenue of awakening that lives with you all your days.

The racism, bigotry and poverty in the South made me a liberal.

Hurricane Katrina ripped the mask off of the poverty and festering racism and what I call the 'new slavery,' the pipeline to prison so many youth experience. Yet our national attention span is abysmally short. Kirk Franklin and CDF are in this battle together for the long-term. We look forward to joining ranks with millions of Americans to stand for justice for children and the poor.

The kind of beauty I want most is the hard-to-get kind that comes from within - strength, courage, dignity.

When you know my love, my love will warm you.

The greatest gift is not being afraid to question.