As much as I try, when I open my mouth, Lena comes out, And I get so mad.

In my early days I was a sepia Hedy Lamarr. Now I'm black and a woman, singing my own way.

It's so nice to get flowers while you can still smell the fragrance.

I thought of singing and acting as a living-making. I was able to take care of myself and a few of my friends.

Nobody black or white who really believes in democracy can stand aside now; everybody's got to stand up and be counted.

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.

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.