I Don't Have To Be An Imitation

I've Seen So Much. And I've Heard So Many Great Performers. There Are Performers Now That Couldn't Work Back In The Days When I Came Along.

You Have To Be Taught To Be Second Class; You're Not Born That Way. But The Slanting Process Is So Subtle That You Frequently Don't Realize How You're Being Slanted Until Very Late In The Game.

I'm Not Alone, I'm Free. I No Longer Have To Be A Credit, I Don't Have To Be A Symbol To Anybody; I Don't Have To Be A First To Anybody.

I Had My Schooling Right There In The Cotton Club.

I Was Lucky, As Many Of My Generation Was, In Having A Man Like Dr. King In Our Lives. He Came At A Time That We Needed To Take A Long Look At Each Other And See How Similar We Were.