There Are Just So Many Stories That

The Sad Truth Is That The Civil Rights Movement Cannot Be Reborn Until We Identify The Causes Of Black Suffering, Some Of Them Self-inflicted. Why Can't Black Leaders Organize Rallies Around Responsible Sexuality, Birth Within Marriage, Parents Reading To Their Children And Students Staying In School And Doing Homework?

I'd Say Imagine That You Wake Up One Morning When You're Going Through A Midlife Crisis. You're Getting Divorced. Your Kids Won't Speak To You. Their Faces Are Covered With Acne, And You Have To Decide Why You Should Get Out Of Bed. That's The Career You Should Pick. The One That Keeps You Going No Matter What, Even If Your Life Is Falling Apart. That's How I Feel About My Career.

There Haven't Been Fundamental Structural Changes In America. There's Been A Very Important Symbolic Change And That Is The Election Of Barack Obama. But The Only Black People Who Truly Live In A Post-racial World In America All Live In A Very Nice House On 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

If You Don't Tell Your Stories, Other People Will Tell Their Story About You. It's Important That We Nurture And Protect These Memories. Things Change. Existence Means Change.

You Can Find Virtually Everybody Black Back As Far As The 1870 Census. Why 1870? That's When The Ex-slaves First Have Surnames. But If You Find Your Great-great-grandfather In 1870 And It Says He's 50, That Means He Was Born In 1820 And You're Back To 1820 Already. For An American That's Pretty Damned Good, You Know?