Lamman Rucker

“Most importantly, I realize the value of the other people - the extended family - the other people within my community, my cultures: my teachers and the other people I call Auntie, Uncle, Godfather, Godbrother, whatever. These are people who pulled you in and made you part of their lives and their homes.”

“There's nothing more fun than just walking through town or maybe going to a community-based festival. How much does that cost? Nothing!”

“I'm especially honored that The Black Gents will debut Off-Broadway and pay tribute to The Tuskegee Airmen and other ancestors of that time who have embodied excellence, self-determination, and self-discipline.”

“A part of growing up in this international world is understanding and being prepared and having tools to adapt outside of the small environment that you may have come from. That's what education is all about.”

“There's no greater source of happiness than giving yourself to other people.”

“Everybody is important. Everybody has something to give.”

“'Why Did I Get Married?' did so well because it gave some real perspective on the realities of love.”

“I need a woman who is secure and loves herself first. Then she can share that love and light with me.”

“Many women are so wounded that they can't love another person.”

“I still get lots of folks who remember my days on ATWT and AMC. As a matter of fact, they're the proudest fans of all because they feel like, 'We were here first,' before I had other fans from all my other shows and movies. They feel a deeper sense of pride and connection to me and have followed my career ever since 2002.”

“She's equally as gracious as someone who shares experiences with you as she is as a superior. What's so graceful about her is that no matter what, she's just Oprah.”

“I don't have a problem showing vulnerability.”

“I've always been attracted to more than just the way a woman looks and the way she's shaped.”

“Just take one small victory at a time.”

“When you learn how to be really attentive, you learn the importance of patience and appreciating a woman. You're able to appreciate the softness of her skin and the look in her eyes. It's a connection.”

“People have no concept of boundaries.”

“I wanted to create a line for women and men alike that would encourage them to embrace the harmony and divine balance of sensuality and spirituality within all of us. Forplai is an opportunity to not only smell good and feel good, but to also take time to connect with the heavens above and the god in you.”

“My mother and father were visionaries in Pittsburgh, part of that collective of people who were creative and active together, and I am a product of that community and those relationships.”

“I learned at a very young age how to be simplistic and sincere.”

“When all is said and done, I want to die exhausted and empty because I gave everything that was in me. I believe that's why we're all here: to give of ourselves to one another to help create a better world, because you can't take it with you.”