I can't bear to see myself even in movies. The feeling is complex. I can't stand the sight of myself.

I was a guinea pig for some hoodlums who thought they could hurt me and frighten me and keep other Negro entertainers from the South.

The whites come to applaud a Negro performer just like the colored do. When you've got the respect of white and colored, you can ease a lot of things.

Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark.

If you smile through your fear and sorrow, smile and maybe tomorrow you'll see the sun come shining through for you.

It's not the people in the South who create racial problems - it's the people who are governing.

There's just one thing I can't figure out. My income tax!