I am viewed as the Negro who has gone outside of the categories assigned to me.

Most African Americans, especially the men and women from my generation, would accept the nationalist gambit that says only European Americans can be racists, which is an interesting gambit.

Everybody in America is angry about something.

I thank the Creator of the universe to have discovered the discipline of music was the greatest gift that I could have been given, the possibility to be a student working in the world.

So, yes, I am in the underground, but actually, it feels like home.

I am viewed as the Negro who has gone outside of the categories assigned to me.

I would find myself backing away from all of the "isms," all of the communities. I have always been able to be misused by every community But that is OK. I would rather be misused than neglected.

I am interested in the study of music and the discipline of music and the experience of music and music as a esoteric mechanism to continue my real intentions.

The word music is a convenient way to talk about what I'm interested in, but actually, in some ways, it's a limitation.

Growing up in the '50s and being in the '60s, in that revolutionary time space, I thought freedom was what I was looking for. Slowly but surely, it became clear that the last thing I was interested in was freedom. Because if you're going to be free, you have to be free from something.

I had never thought that I would be involved in narrative structures. As a young guy, I was more interested in abstract modeling. But as I got older, I began to see that there was no reason to limit myself to any intellectual or conceptual postulate, when in fact I'm a professional student of music.

I have learned through time that not everyone is interested in the kinds of things that fascinate me.

I would find myself backing away from all of the 'isms', all of the communities. I have always been able to be misused by every community But that is OK. I would rather be misused than neglected.

I'm seeking to have an art that is engaged as a way for saying, 'Hurray for unity.'

My work has been marginalized as far as the jazz-business complex is concerned, or the contemporary-music complex.

I think "Hero" is not a real martial arts movie; it is not about violence, or formula.

I don't have any furniture of mine in my room.

The way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel. And if your employees dont feel valued neither will your customers.

The biggest similarity between me and my character is that we've both played clubs for 20 years. In real life, the clubs aren't quite as controlled - and my hair isn't quite as in place as it is on 'Ally McBeal.'

You have been trapped in the inescapable net of ruin by your own want of sense.

Some people thought we were presenting Archie as a false character. President Nixon thought we were making a fool out of a good man.

Citizenship and ethnicity can become, in certain contexts, restrictive, and perhaps that's one reason I was interested in people who feel compelled to mask their origins and thereby circumvent the restrictions.

That's what I love about acting, is playing different roles. I want to work for the character, and not make it work for me.

Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination. They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore and achieve, and contribute to improving our quality of life. Libraries change lives for the better.

It's the interviewee's job to know that his privacy is going to be invaded on some level. Otherwise, you are better off not doing the interview.

You can make movies for a select audience, but you have to market it to them.You can make movies for a select audience, but you have to market it to them.

So I went out and bought Hard Again by Muddy Waters. That was a big learning curve. I listened to that album again and again and again. James Cotton was the harmonica player on that album.

Sometimes people with strong ideology, whether left-wing or right-wing, refuse to do something simply because they believe it is wrong, when doing it actually benefits them. For some people, it's not just about money and political power.

The cross is steady while the world is turning.

Rather than spend millions getting film stars, I am quite happy to be brand ambassador myself.

I don't think anything's more rewarding than hearing that you've helped someone gain a love of reading.

If hindsight of some women was as good as their foresight they wouldnt be wearing slacks.

If you realize all the time what's kind of wonderful - that is, if we expand our experience into wilder and wilder regions of experience - every once in a while, we have these integrations when everything's pulled together into a unification, in which it turns out to be simpler than it looked before.

Along with a strong belief in your own inner voice, you also need laser-like focus combined with unwavering determination.

I came to Vegas because I work 20 days a month here; I couldn't live anywhere else.

'Revelations' is one of the most important pieces to the African American arts. It assesses the hope and despair of a people and overcoming the struggle with our faith.

I'm normally late, so I just kind of throw on the sort of thing that's at hand. And then I'll go through phases of wearing the same thing again and again and again - and my wardrobe is mainly about black and white, so it goes together. I'll play with certain elements, but I don't really think about it too much.

I feel incredibly awkward as a human being and incredibly teenaged still.

If nothing else, I want women to understand that they are powerful. If you look back at history, in almost every big moment, in every leap forward, you find ordinary women at the core. We have more ability to make changes in the world than we can imagine if we have the courage to try.