“At Brown, I trained in West African dance and drumming.” — Sophie Hawley-Weld Quote

“At Brown, I trained in West African dance and drumming.”

“Inspiration comes from everywhere. Obviously, my lyrics are what I most care about in the moment and what I feel like I need to say.”

“I have an American passport, but I don't always remember I'm an American citizen.”

“Positive social awareness among the South African educated half-caste is zero. Teaching is a mechanical job. The best way of earning a living.”

“My mother was not happy with the Afros that my friends and I emerged with - there's that crack in the book of 'Why, if a fly landed in there, he'd break his little wings trying to get out.' I was not pure dashiki, though - I was a combination of African dresses, miniskirts, tank tops, shawls, ethnic-looking earrings, sandals.”

“Voters in 1960 elected the first Catholic president. In 2012, I voted to reelect the first African American president. Each was a vote for a man of principle and character, for a man who had proved himself capable and courageous and who would lead our country with a combination of dignity, compassion and toughness along a path of progress.”