"Some books save lives. On its thirty-fifth anniversary, this book is still doing it. If you have never read this wise, accurate and still fresh reality-check on how black women have often been left out of the public image of both the civil rights and feminist movements – even though they disproportionately created both – read this book. You will see the world whole. In recent times, for instance, why did 51% of white women voters support Donald Trump, yet 96% of black women voters supported Hillary Clinton? This book will explain why. More than any other definable group, black women are the hope for the democratic future of this country. And after you finish this book by Paula Giddings, read A Sword Among Lions, her great biography of Ida B. Wells. You will see how long black women have been leading us."

"Italian, a black-and-white movie. If you go to the internet, you can find it. Dino Risi movie, with Vittorio Gassman acting in it. And a French actor named Jean-Louis Trintignant. It is about somebody who is pretentious, who’s always speaking [loudly], always speaking about himself. And somebody in front who is shy. The story is about changing personality, and the moral of the story is, “If you want to change your personality, change with your own rhythm. Don’t try to imitate people.” [This was] reality because so many people try to imitate things that they have seen without any reasons inside themselves. They just want to imitate because they have seen that on screen or in a book. Instead of following their own rhythm, their own needs. I still remember that… long time ago. 30 years ago."