"No one should negotiate their dreams. Dreams must be free to fly high. No government, no legislature, has a right to limit your dreams. You should never agree to surrender your dreams."

"Urban America has been redlined. Government has not offered tax incentives for investment, as it has in a dozen foreign markets. Banks have redlined it. Industries have moved out, they've redlined it. Clearly, to break up the redlining process, there must be incentives to green-line with hedges against risk."

"For me, Barack Obama's election was a milestone of the most extraordinary kind. On the day he was elected I felt such hope in my heart. I thought we were seeing the beginning of a new era of equal opportunity across race and gender such as America had never known before."

"Music of all arts should be expansive and inclusive."

"Where compassion abides, fear and resentment lose their dominion. This remains the cornerstone of personal mastery."

"It is a timeless truth that clear thinking requires courage even more than intellect."

"I'm good at what I do, but I wouldn't be so bold and arrogant as to say something disrespectful about, say, Eminem. He's talented and he's good at what he does."

"It is a timeless truth that clear thinking requires courage even more than intellect."