Kiesha Dellum

“When Shaundelle turned and looked back at Nonie she had her lips pursed. "The man say wear whatever you want. Wear black, girl. It's slimmin', not that you need any slimmin' with your skinny self, but it makes me look like I've been dietin' for a week. I don't want to be the only one wearin' black, so wear black, okay?”
― Deborah Leblanc, Toe to Toe

“I remained abroad ten months, which was much longer than I had anticipated. During all that time, I never saw the slightest symptom of prejudice against color. Indeed, I entirely forgot it, till the time came for us to return to America....

We had a tedious winter passage, and from the distance spectres seemed to rise up on the shores of the United States. It is a sad feeling to be afraid of one's native country.”
― Harriet Ann Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

“Through my own struggles I’ve learned that knowing is something that evolves. What we think we know can be quite far from the truth.”
― Ruta Sepetys, The Fountains of Silence

“She had all her life long been accustomed to harbor thoughts and emotions which never voiced themselves… They belonged to her her and were her own, and she entertained the conviction that she had a right to them and they they concerned no one but herself.”
― Kate Chopin, The Awakening