I believe the choice to become a mother is the choice to become one of the greatest spiritual teachers there is.

My mother was a woman. A black woman. A single mother. Raising two kids on her own. So she was dark skinned. Had short hair. Got no love from nobody except for a group called the Black Panthers. So that's why she was a Black Panther.

Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.

My father really was not the dominant person who raised the family, it was my mother who raised the family.

My mother had a rule, obviously, that I couldn't go across the street by myself, but I had to find a way of doing it.

It bothered me that my mother was crying all the time. She thought God might be punishing her for something... So I just told her I was happy to be blind and I think she felt better after that.