We [must] realize that our future lies chiefly in our own hands.

Artists are the gate keepers of truth. We are civilization’s radical voice.

Why should the Negroes ever fight against the only nations of the world where racial discrimination is prohibited, and where the people can live freely? Never! I can assure you, they will never fight against either the Soviet Union or the peoples' democracies.

The intolerance of the few, or the risk of it, carries the day against the wider humanity of the many.

Get them to sing your song and they will want to know who you are.

In my music, my plays, my films, I want to carry always this central idea: to be African.

The talents of an artist, small or large, are God-given... They are a sacred trust.