Colin Powell is an American success story.  From his childhood in a tough Bronx neighborhood in New York City, Powell rose to the highest position in the U.S.  military. 

Condoleezza Rice is the Secretary of State for the president of the United States.  She gives the president advice about matters that concern foreign countries.  When it comes to foreign affairs, she is the person the president trusts most. 

Cornel West is a professor at Princeton University who teaches and writes about race in the United States.  He believes that "race matters", which is also the title of his best-known book. 

Henry Louis Gates Jr., calls himself a "race man" because he writes about African Americans.  He teaches about their place in American culture and about their contribution to American literature. 

It does not seem possible that one person can do so many things.  She is a poet and author.  She is a playwright.  She is an actress, producer, and director.  She is a singer and dancer, a teacher and speaker.  She is a civil rights activist.

On Tuesday afternoon, December 7, 1993, Toni Morrison stood before an audience at the Swedish Academy in Stockholm.  Dressed in a black gown, she began her speech with the words "Once upon a time." She was at the academy to give her Nobel Lecture in Literature.