The Strongest Lesson I Can Teach My

The Fear That We Cannot Grow Beyond Whatever Distortions We May Find Within Ourselves Keeps Us Docile And Loyal And Obedient, Externally Defined, And Leads Us To Accept Many Facets Of Our Own Oppression As Women.

I Have Come To Believe That Caring For Myself Is Not Self-indulgent. Caring For Myself Is An Act Of Survival.

Within The Lesbian Community I Am Black, And Within The Black Community I Am A Lesbian. Any Attack Against Black People Is A Lesbian And Gay Issue, Because I And Thousands Of Other Black Women Are Part Of The Lesbian Community. Any Attack Against Lesbians And Gays Is A Black Issue, Because Thousands Of Lesbians And Gay Men Are Black. There Is No Hierarchy Of Oppression.

It Is Not Our Differences That Divide Us. It Is Our Inability To Recognize, Accept, And Celebrate Those Differences.

Pain Is An Event ... Suffering, On The Other Hand, Is The Nightmare Reliving Of Unscrutinized And Unmetabolized Pain.