"…The characters in Sassafras did say awful things and trash one another, but there are people who do. In the time of …"

"I think I always see a young child or an adolescent of color, but not necessarily right this minute. I started writin…"

"…I think unless black women are writing the pieces, we're being left out the same way we used to be left out of liter…"

"…gender is cultural: we have menarche to deal with, virginity, menopause, pregnancy, childbirth; these things are una…"

"i found god in myself & i loved her/i loved her fiercely"

"We must not let our oppression deny us the earth."

"Hopefully, these characters bring us closer to a sense of self: honest and honored. Icons: Toussaint L'Ouverture to J…"

"I have spent my life undoing language until it works for me. We must not only repossess the language, we must deslave…"

"I write for young girls of color, for girls who don’t even exist yet, so that there is something there for them when …"

"No. I’m not trying to go away from anybody. I don’t go where my feelings get hurt. If you’re going to be nice to me, …"