"Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to 'jump at the sun.' We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground."

"All my life, I have been a student of human beings."

"Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes…"

"I am a Negro — and I am proud of it."

"It is human to want to be better than you are."