"Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you're unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so."

"The United States is a deeply racist society, and its institutions are designed to perpetuate racial inequality."

"One of the ways that the powerful maintain their power is by making you feel like you're alone."

"The more you know about the world, the more you realize how much there is to know."

"The whole educational system is a very elaborate filter, which just weeds out people who are too independent, and who think too much, and who are too creative, and who don't follow instructions."