"Racism is a distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you from thinking you’re not good enough or that you’re not worthy."

"Black people have always been there. We're just not being seen. And when we are seen, we're seen as a problem."

"We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives."

"I think of myself as an American writer. I don't think of myself as a Black writer."

"A writer's life and work are not a gift to mankind; they are its necessity."