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The first thing I typed was my name. I wanted to see how it looked in print. Then I began to type my poems.

—August Wilson

Devil tempt but he no force.

—Guyanese Proverb

Self-help is the best help.

—Aesop, from “Hercules and the Wagoner”

For most of us, keeping up with the popular culture is one of the first things we let go. The problem is that sometimes this lack of attention to the music that both shapes and reflects our children makes us miss important developments in their world, and by extension, our own

—Pearl Cleage

When things got bad, I’d just sing “Ave Maria,” which is one of my favorite songs from childhood … it was my salvation. It gave me a reason to believe that things would change.

—Aaron Neville

Children learn by seeing people doing things. If all they see are people who don’t try, it’s going to be difficult for them to try.

—Faith Ringgold

For us, Africa is not so much a lost continent as an imagined one.

—Jack E. White

Celebrating Kwanzaa is not an end in itself. Neither is having an African medallion swinging from your neck, wearing a kente cloth hat, or giving your children African names.

—Eric V. Copage

I’ve had so many downs that I knew the law of averages would be in my favor one day.

– Doug Williams