Chirlane McCray

Symbols are important. It depends on how they're used.

I have the advantage of many perspectives as someone who has lived in different kinds of communities: as a woman, as someone who previously identified as a lesbian, as someone who is a person of color. I've had a lot of life, so that informs what I do.

If you ask the right questions, you learn a lot about people.

Government is not just about maintaining the status quo. It's about helping people's lives to work.

Violence against women is a huge issue. A good feminist should be working on that - making the world a safer place for girls and women, wherever they live.

We have to think about the state of women in a more holistic way going forward. We can't be segregated by class and race as we have been. Because even the women at the top can do something about violence against women, right?

I went to Wellesley College, and it was really hard for me to get a job after I graduated. I would go into places where I would not see any black people at all in Boston - like, zero. And then in publishing in New York City, it was pretty much the same. I knew that it wasn't about the value of my work.

I'm a woman and a person of color; I know what it's like out there in the workplace.

I came out at 17.

My life was very compartmentalized. I went to a school that was all white, and then I went home and to my black family.

Telling my story has not been easy for me. I've had to dredge up memories I would have rather forgotten. The lonely, anxiety-ridden months I avoided others, attempting to hide from interrogations about my social life.

When you become first lady, it's like, 'O.K., now what do you do?'

Black women do not have as many positive images in the media as we should.

It took a long time for me to get into 'I'm taking care of kids,' and what that means.

I know my husband loves me fiercely and passionately. I know he supports me and will always stand up for me.

I am more than just a label. Why are people so driven to labeling where we fall on the sexual spectrum?

Pay equity matters because those dollars add up over time.

Domestic violence is much more prevalent than people realize.

I wish I had more time to read.

It's really hard to get enough sleep, so I try to end my days by 9 P.M. so my husband and I have time to watch TV, chat, and then I like to read for at least half an hour before bed, but we have a lot of events, and there are places to go and people to talk to.

I would consider running for office. But not for mayor.

It's tough to be a mother. At any age. It's tough. It's a lot of work.

'Bad mother' is probably the worst thing you can say to any woman who has children.

A very tiny percentage of people with mental illness are also violent. We know this. The constant linking of the two together in national media is so misleading.

I had never had a deep sense of belonging anywhere. I always felt I was an outsider.