When I began working in not-for-profits, it was taking a vow of poverty, which eliminated huge numbers of folks.

People don't believe or understand that a community can lose hope. You can have a whole community where hopelessness is the norm, where folks don't have faith that things will get better because history and circumstances have proven over 30, 40, or 50 years that things don't get better.

I'm taking a vow not to advise.

When I was growing up, kids used to talk about snitching... It never extended as a cultural norm outside of the gangsters.

When I first found out that Superman wasn't real, I was about maybe eight. And I was talking to my mother about it. And she was like, 'No, no, no. There's no Superman.' And I started crying. I really thought he was coming to rescue us. The chaos, the violence, the danger. No hero was coming.

Many schools today are sacrificing social studies, the arts and physical education so children can cover basic subjects like math, English and science.