My father and mother deeply loved me and my sister.

If anything, any success that I have ever experienced has been because people who didn't have to care about me did, and they pushed me to see things in myself that I did not see in myself at the time.

It is one thing to talk about fundraising and another to do it as a candidate, and I have learned so much about how much money it costs to run a campaign and what it means to raise money.

Asking people for money is really different than asking people for their support.

Being mayor is about offering a vision for the city, putting the right people in the right place, and executing that vision.

I've worked in two public school districts, Minneapolis and Baltimore, one as a senior leader. And while we might not always have agreed with the union, and we might have had deep differences, they came to the table.

Laws on hate speech and hate crimes do important work in a world that has been rooted in racism and bigotry since the inception of this country, which was not founded on ideals of justice.

It's important to acknowledge the danger when we provide an academic venue for racism. It's interesting to hear people push the, quote, 'free speech' narrative in this way. They deny the speech of the people who disagree.

I grew up in a world of Officer Friendly. It was just the image I had.

People in power make the path to power. It means that we will always get the same system, and it's one that is not necessarily in the interest of people's lives.

When I reflect on the Colbert interview, it moved so quickly that what we didn't do was define white privilege, and I wish we had done that. White privilege is the benefit resulting from white being seen as the standard, regardless of gender and income.

There are people who have demonstrated their willingness to challenge systems and structures, and then when it comes to elections, some of those same people - I don't know where their fight went. What's interesting to me is to see people lose the revolution when it comes to elections.

For our kids to go to school, they must be alive, and for adults to work, they must not be in jail.

Music helps shape the way people think about the world and act in the world.

I'm a black, gay man, and I should be able to live in a world where I'm able to live in the complexity of my identity in a way that is safe and secure, like everyone else.

The arts scene in Baltimore is really rich and very vibrant. It's one of the untold stories of the city.

When Trump says, 'Make America great again,' he is referencing an era when people were singled out and harmed because of their race and religious beliefs, and when violent enforcement of Jim Crow masqueraded as the will of the people.

Trump wants to take us back to a time when people like him could abuse others with little to no consequence, when people like him could exploit the labor of others to build vast amounts of wealth, when people like him could create public policy that specifically benefited them while suppressing the rights and social mobility of others.

Black people have always been more than our pain. The joy is so much a part of how we have survived and thrived.

A cacophony of whispers is also noise. There are many ways to be heard, and there are many ways to be visible. There are many ways to be seen.

The activism of marginalized people often comes with visibility and being heard. Which can lead people to believe that recognition and awareness is the actual end point. And it is not.

What we know to be true is that comfort isn't always freedom. People confuse the two.

I think Twitter is an incredible platform. I want to see it succeed.

Every fight, I train for the opponent very hard and smart.

In MMA, you can literally cheat over and over again, and it's OK. The media will back you.

If you look at my career, it's been nothing but consistency.

I haven't been given a lot of respect in the division. But you know what? I'm OK with earning it.

I know what I'm capable of when I'm prepared and dialed in.

I miss my family so much, my kids are everything to me.

I came into MMA and I had a strong core and a lot flexibility. I could put myself in a lot of different positions when it comes to scrambling.

You have to be sharp, you have to be ready. You have to have guys that can push you in terms of these high-level fights or otherwise you're going to get out to these fights and your opponent has been pushed and they are ready to compete. If you have not been pushed and you're not ready, you can't just turn that switch on that night.

MMA in my opinion is the hardest sport in the world, no doubt.

This sport is growing. It's about patience, rather than getting caught up in five in a row, want a title shot, main event. The goal is to put on a great fight and be smart.

Nobody has seen my jiu-jitsu, but I have really good jiu-jitsu. I submit black belts.

MMA is a sport. We go out here and we do battle. Everybody has family, friends, they train really hard.

Middleweight is the best division in the UFC, in MMA in my opinion.

Fighting Anderson Silva was a signature and career-defining moment that was stolen from me.

I match up against everybody well. I just have to stay consistent and keep going out there winning fights.

My fight against Chris Leben was a war, and I was fulfilled with that victory because that guy has a ton of experience fighting in the UFC.

Sports are sometimes unforgiving, and it is what it is. Take my fight with Jacare. I had the flu and I went to the doctor and I had to get nursed back. I didn't train for like 10 days and I fought four or five days later.

Anderson knees people in the face from the clinch. That guy is a world class Muay Thai fighter.

I'm a dangerous guy.

It's not an excuse, but I'd say I didn't perform well in the big fights because I wasn't prepared properly.

I don't think Anderson Silva is less of a fighter.

When you're talking mixed martial arts, to have a win over a guy who is by many considered the greatest of all time, is definitely going to take your career to the next level.

My striking is on a different level.

Jacare, he has power. We're two strong guys. He relies on being aggressive and coming forward. He looks to get the takedown. He's punching and he's shooting. I've never been taken down in a fight. Now, I'm not disregarding that I could be taken down, but I just know that I have a little bit more when it comes to giving up takedowns.

Lyoto is never going to lose his skills. He might lose his timing, speed, cardio, but he'll never lose his skills.

Strikeforce let me take a fight on short notice outside the promotion and I got robbed on a split decision against Kendall Grove. I easily won that fight. So, I went from 9-0 to getting robbed and suffering my first loss.

Everybody at middleweight has been working hard to be a champion.