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My kids are coming up in a different time then me. Interracial couples are of the norm. With me, it's about making sure my kids understand the importance of education and having opportunities that I didn't. My goal as a parent is to make sure they don't take what they have for granted.

You want your kids to grow with the right culture and values, and the toughest part would be finding out how to instill those values in your kids.

We put stereotypes on ourselves. Everybody does that. But I think it's just a little harder for black kids to just be who they are.

I know black kids who don't even know any other black kids except their cousins. And that's enough. You wouldn't look at these kids and say that they are Uncle Toms or self-hating or fleeing or trying to be white, given the culture in which they live, which is very natural to them as kids.

I can't talk about the education of black children if I ignored two of my nieces who were a couple of grade levels behind. I believe that charity begins at home, and I take seriously the role of a godfather to fill the gap when the parents aren't doing their job.

I think a lot of people have a problem with the fact that I've adopted an African child, a child who has a different color skin than I do.

Conversations between parents and kids are important - about race issues, about all kinds of things, about heritage.

I feel like kids in general, not just African-American kids, are influenced by what they see, both positive and negative.

If you want your children to improve, let them overhear the nice things you say about them to others.

I get tired of hearing people, well-meaning people, talking about African-American kids or Hispanic kids as if they're all the same. Which isn't true. There is a very diverse group of people in both groups in terms of income, objectives in life, aspirations, cultural wants, habits, all the things that make us unique Americans.