“There is no shame in having been the woman I was. She made me the woman I am.”

“I was proud to be in America, not just because here I found my voice but because the country made me the woman I am today, a woman with a fierce voice, a woman without shame. I grew up hearing that I was stubborn, a troublemaker, hard headed, and not good enough. But I had been wise enough to look in the mirror. I liked what I was, and I said to myself, I am worthy, lovable, and good enough.”

“I am a human being; I am a woman; I am a black woman; I am an African. Once I was free; then I was captured and became a slave; but inside me, I have never been a slave; even today, inside me, here, and here, I am still a free woman.”

“I’m not—Lady MacbethLucrezia BorgiaCatherine the Great. I am—a woman doing what she has to do. I am—the woman you made me.Elena is at war.”

“I made love with a cute woman yesterday. I would have made love with a gorgeous woman, but she was more expensive.”

“Am I the woman I think I am, the woman I want to be? More importantly, am I the woman the Savior needs me to be?”