We want to make history. There's only been one other team who has done it. And who knows how long ago that was.

Going into senior year, I was hoping to be a state champ and I fell short?but you can't look back.

He's ranked No. 2 (in California), but I think he's going to win for sure. He's really good.

I believe black characters in fiction are still revolutionary, given our long history of erasure.

Somehow, I realized I could write books about black characters who reflected my own experiences or otherworldly experiences - not just stories of history, poverty and oppression.

Inspired by Alex Haley's 'Roots,' at the age of 11 I began a handwritten Middle Passage story called 'Lawdy, Lawdy, Make Us Free.' I was raised by civil rights activists with a very strong sense of racial history and consciousness.