When things are going bad, don't get all bummed out. Don't get startled; don't get frustrated. If you can say the word 'good,' guess what? It means you're still alive. It means you're still breathing.

I'm not the kind of cat that's going to cut off an ear if I can't do something.

The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.

...as your father, my instinct is to protect you ... Other people will want to protect you too. But remember that you are not a damsel in distress, waiting for some prince to rescue you. Forget the prince. With your brain and your resourcefulness, you can rescue yourself.

It was easy to persecute me without people feeling ashamed. It was easy to vilify me and project me as a woman who was not following the tradition of a 'good African woman' and as a highly educated elitist who was trying to show innocent African women ways of doing things that were not acceptable to African men.

My dad was in a hospital for months. The doctors told my dad he would never be able to walk again. My dad beat all the odds. He came back and was able to walk and start boxing again. He went to No. 1 in the world at welterweight to fight for the world title. But he never had his chance to fight for a world title.