"This is the kola nut. This seed is a star. This star is life. This star is us". - Chris Abani

“blacks. As in any free market, the coloreds were the middle classes, as it were—those who would give their lives to maintain the status quo, a life they knew they could never improve but which had meaning only because there were those who suffered worse; that in fact, a larger population suffered worse.

Time was the only variable in every equation of power and oppression-how long before the pot boiled over.

He said to me, "It will always be difficult, but if you cry like this every time, you will die of heartbreak. Just know it is enough sometimes to know it is difficult."