The Secret To The Fountain Of Youth

Friends, To Me For Years St. Louis Represented A City Of Fear... Humiliation... Misery And Terror... A City Where In The Eyes Of The White Man A Negro Should Know His Place And Had Better Stay In It.

Surely The Day Will Come When Color Means Nothing More Than The Skin Tone, When Religion Is Seen Uniquely As A Way To Speak One's Soul; When Birth Places Have The Weight Of A Throw Of The Dice And All Men Are Born Free, When Understanding Breeds Love And Brotherhood.

I Was Learning The Importance Of Names - Having Them, Making Them - But At The Same Time I Sensed The Dangers. Recognition Was Followed By Oblivion, A Yawning Maw Whose Victims Disappeared Without A Trace.

I Believe In Prayer. It's The Best Way We Have To Draw Strength From Heaven.

I Remember When Lindbergh Arrived In Paris, I Was One Of The First Persons To Know About His Landing, Because As The French People Know That I Was Born In St. Louis, Thinking I Would Be Very Proud To Announce It To The Public, They Gave Me The News First. I Was Then Starring In The 'folies Bergere.'