Whatever coast he's on, a man should be himself. I don't write in any particular idiom, I write Charles Mingus.

I am Charles Mingus, half black man, not even white enough to pass for nothing but black. I am Charles Mingus, a famed jazzman, but not famed enough to make a living in this society.

I was always doing revolutionary things, things that would alert people, so they would stop being so subservient.

I'm trying to play the truth of what I am. The reason it's difficult is because I'm changing all the time.

I always thought that no matter what kind of work people did, they should involve themselves totally with all the discrimination they ran into.

It (jazz) isn't like it used to be. The guys aren't together. They're all separated. Individuals now. Bird was a symbol. It was a clique, a clique of people. Who all believed in one thing: gettin' high. And playin'.

I've got a feeling that if it's so easy for you - the struggle and the initiative are not as strong as they are for a person who has to struggle and therefore has more to say.