You Wouldn't Be Allowed To Get On

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 Remember The Day Tdr. King Died. I Wasn't Angry At The Beginning. It Was Like Something Very Personal In My Life Had Been Touched And Finished.

I Was Unique In That I Was A Kind Of Black That White People Could Accept. I Was Their Daydream. I Had The Worst Kind Of Acceptance Because It Was Never For How Great I Was Or What I Contributed. It Was Because Of The Way I Looked.

I Thought Of Singing And Acting As A Living-making. I Was Able To Take Care Of Myself And A Few Of My Friends.

I Don't Have To Be An Imitation Of A White Woman That Hollywood Sort Of Hoped I'd Become. I'm Me, And I'm Like Nobody Else.