“What others might dismiss as the vagaries of fate, my father interpreted as dancing lessons from the Divine.”

“Anyone intent on moral clarity might want to find another book and, in fact, might not want to go anywhere near the enduring chasm of race in the United States.”

“In politics, everyone regards themselves as a moderate, because they know some other sumbitch who's twice as crazy as they are.”

“The Lord works through deeply flawed people, since He made so few of the other kind.”

“The world had kenneled a vicious lie in my brain…”

“It appeared clear to me - partly because of the lies that filled my history textbooks - that the intent of formal education was to inculcate obedience to a social order that did not deserve my loyalty. Defiance seemed the only dignified response to the adult world.”

“We are runaway slaves from our own past, and only by turning to face the hounds can we find our freedom beyond them.”