“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.”

“In 1891 the Brazilian Minister of Finance decreed the abolition of history; he ordered the destruction of every document which dealt in any way with slavery or the slave trade; a nation-wide burning of the books.”

“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?”

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

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.”

“I am in trouble here. This woman is not right.”

“The woman I was yesterday, introduced me to the woman I am today; which makes me very excited about meeting the woman I will become tomorrow. ”