I have never really been a great artist. I have been a human being that has loved art, which is not the same thing. But I have loved and believed in art and the idea of universal brotherhood so much, that I have put everything I have into them, and I have been blessed.

One dance had made me the most famous colored woman in the world.

I like Frenchmen very much, because even when they insult you they do it so nicely.

God dislikes evil, and no happiness can be built on hate. Love one another as brothers.

Let us stop saying 'white Americans' and 'colored Americans,' let us try once and for all saying... Americans. Let human beings be equal on Earth as in Heaven.

I'm not intimidated by anyone. Everyone is made with two arms, two legs, a stomach and a head. Just think about that.

The old Catholic parties hounded me with a Christian hatred from station to station, city to city, one stage to another.