Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to read at age three, and there discovered was a whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in Mississippi.

When people show you who they are; believe them.

People believe marriage will make us better.

I believe that there are forces of light and darkness in the world, and I don't want to be a contributor to the force of darkness.

It's fulfilling being able to do this kind of television. And I believe continuing to have a voice and a platform to speak to the world is still the right thing to do.

Nothing about my life is lucky. Nothing. A lot of grace, a lot of blessings, a lot of divine order, but I don't believe in luck. For me, luck is preparation meeting the moment of opportunity. There is no luck without you being prepared to handle that moment of opportunity. Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for the moment that is to come.

I firmly believe that none of us in this world have made it until the least among us have made it.

I believe your personality is formed at a very early age. Fame can magnify that personality, for good or bad, but it can't change it. So when people say to me, 'Don't change,' I'm thinking, To what? To who? Who else would I be?

I did not believe what I was told about being poor and black and female in Mississippi in 1954.