"Let's face it - think of Africa, and the first images that come to mind are of war, poverty, famine and flies. How many of us really know anything at all about the truly great ancient African civilizations, which in their day, were just as splendid and glorious as any on the face of the earth?"

"Very few, if any, first-generation black or white or Asian kids will pursue a Ph.D. They'll pursue the professions for economic security. Many will go to law school and/or business school."

"My brother and I had a really privileged relationship with my parents... They treated us like adults."

"All of the guests on 'Faces of America' were deeply moved by what we revealed about their ancestry. We were able to trace the ancestry of Native American writer Louise Erdrich back to 438 A.D. We found that Queen Noor is descended from royalty, and that's before she married King Hussein of Jordan."

"It is a subtle truth that the stoutest timber is forged in the fiercest gales, not in the sheltered grove."

"The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common."

"Glory is largely a theatrical concept. There is no striving for glory without a vivid awareness of an audience."

"We convince by our presence."