Silence And Invisibility Go Hand In Hand

Whenever A Conscious Black Woman Raises Her Voice On Issues Central To Her Existence, Somebody Is Going To Call Her Strident, Because They Don't Want To Hear About It, Nor Us. I Refuse To Be Silenced And I Refuse To Be Trivialized, Even If I Do Not Say What I Have To Say Perfectly.

We Must Constantly Encourage Ourselves And Each Other To Attempt The Heretical Actions That Our Dreams Imply And So Many Of Our Old Ideas Disparage.

The Fact That We Are Here And That I Speak These Words Is An Attempt To Break That Silence And Bridge Some Of Those Differences Between Us, For It Is Not Difference Which Immobilizes Us, But Silence. And There Are So Many Silences To Be Broken.

It Does Not Pay To Cherish Symbols When The Substance Lies So Close At Hand.

It Is Not The Destiny Of Black America To Repeat White America's Mistakes. But We Will, If We Mistake The Trappings Of Success In A Sick Society For The Signs Of A Meaningful Life.