“It is our lot to take what we have, make of it what we will. We are meant to finger the leftovers, rock our old dolls, clutch wooden angels to our breasts.”

“What hope is there?” I asked. “If even angels fall, what hope is there for the rest of us?”“There isn’t,” he said. “We’re on our own. And we have to make the choices we think are best for our own survival.”

“Style has a profound meaning to Black Americans. If we can’t drive, we will invent walks and the world will envy the dexterity of our feet. If we can’t have ham, we will boil chitterlings; if we are given rotten peaches, we will make cobblers; if given scraps, we will make quilts; take away our drums, and we will clap our hands. We prove the human spirit will prevail. We will take what we have to make what we need. We need confidence in our knowledge of who we are.”

“We cannot discuss the state of our minorities until we first have a sense of what we are, who we are, what our goals are, and what we take life to be.”

“This is what we Mexicans do:we take what exists and we make it our own.”

“We are what we are meant to be, and if we are kind and good, then we should not let our shortcomings poison our accomplishments.”