Madame Walker was mythologized like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, but I want to show that she was fabulous on her own.
I suggest that ten thousand Negroes march on Washington, D.C., the capital of the Nation, with the slogan, 'We loyal Negro American citizens demand the right to work and fight for our country.'
My mother's belief in spiritual healers grew stronger after our family went through a rough patch following my father's death. Sufi saint Karimullah Shah Kadri changed our lives, and all of us converted to Sufism. But it wasn't an instantaneous decision - it took us 10 years to convert. The change in religion was like washing away the past.
When I campaign with seniors, it's always, 'Are you a Democrat or Republican?' But when I campaign on college campuses, they ask me where I stand on specific issues. I think Millennials are much less interested in conventional labels. One thing that's universal among Millennials is a distinct frustration with Washington, D.C.
I'm not from a political family and didn't grow up dreaming of being George Washington. I started working in 8th grade and have held every odd job possible - working in a gravel pit, weighing big wheelers, ticket sales, data base management - but I knew if I worked hard and got experience, I could apply that experience to my next endeavor.
We should make it so that young people pay their fair share for health care, and nothing more. And instead of Washington telling us what to buy, let's get back to letting every American choose the plan that's best for them and their family.
Now, the typical way you make good things happen in Washington is you find a bunch of wealthy companies who agree with you.
Washington is an endless series of mock palaces clearly built for clerks.
From the age of 11, I was cleaning floors, washing dishes, making sandwiches and being a cashier. Survival was the name of the game. Life was so hard that I had to struggle to keep up my standards. Under these conditions, I didn't think about science too much.
There's a Washington standard of casually putting things off the record. It's really gone too far. I don't know an easy way to turn it back.
