Quotes from Beverly Jenkins

Why do men want unmarried women to be so ignorant?

The bloodthirsty killers were the men who gunned down the Cheyenne children and women, then returned to mutilate the bodies and set the village on fire.

I wonder if the country will ever heal from the war?" ... "It won't be anytime soon. Maybe not even in our lifetimes.

Some do, but the big cattle ranchers don't. They own the land now and it's made them rich. They don't care if the tribes are fenced in, starving, and destitute, as long as they can ship their beef.

And that's what you aspire to? Being a force to reckon with?" "yes, and to teach girls to aspire to be the same.

What scares you?" "That I won't be taken seriously because I can't write my name in the snow.

Careful, young woman. Smart-mouthed females are prized here.

Sheriff, I'm wanted everywhere—but not by the law.

Although there were only five children enrolled, every educated child was an asset to the race.

Never mind then. Do what's best for her. Not you. But if you need me to ride north, let me know.

I've always believed the Spirit puts people in our lives for a reason. I'm not sure if that applies to eleven-year-old carjackers, but we'll work with what the Spirit sends.

Had the Army been helpful, maybe the murderer wouldn't be wherever he was taken.

Someone has to champion us if the government won't. During the Draft Riots back home, mobs attacked members of the race all over the city. They even burned down a Colored orphanage. Those who hate us have no shame, and if dragging them from their houses teaches them a lesson, I'm all for dragging them out every night until they learn.

Being in New Orleans with its long history of ambitious women of color like Julianna had shown her that she didn't need the societal stamp of a husband to achiee her goals. ... But would Cole and Lenny succeed without her being Cole's wife?

working sugar was by far the most brutal work a slave could be assigned. Most died by the age of twenty-five from infections caused by the serrated leaves, snakebite from the venomous snakes lurking in the fields, and heat exhaustion from having to stir the cane down to syrup in vats heated underneath by flames

Lady Ruby was behind the long wooden bar. Her shoulder length red wig was slightly askew and she was wearing a voluminous silver wrapper on her tall large-boned frame. She was also sporting enough silver jewelry on her wrists and fingers to be officially declared a mine.

What role was she expected to play in his life, and more important, in her own?

Love with the right person makes us stronger, not weaker.

I don't think you ever get over it, but you do get through it.

I shot the sheriff?

Embarrassed by her admission and doing her best to ignore the heat searing her cheeks, she dragged her eyes to his and found a quietness waiting there that spoke to her wordlessly.

My great-great grandfather was a Tory and fought on the side of the Crown against the rebels." "He was on the losing side then?

In a mean-spirited show of contempt, the Confederates dumped Shaw's body and the bodies of the dead of the Fifty-Fourth into an unmarked grave and sent a telegram to the Union generals saying, "We have buried Shaw with his niggers." They'd hoped this would make other White officers think twice about leading Black troops. It didn't. The 180,000 Black troops under their White commanders would go on to help the Union win the

Eddy guessed her to be middle-aged, but like most women of color she wore her age well.