It’s an incredible dilemma to be an artist of color and to always be in denial about that, saying, ‘I’m a choreographer first and then I’m black,’ when in fact, that’s not the case. I’m black first and then I’m also a choreographer. – Donald Byrd
I’d like to see more crossover between white and black music. That’s something I’ve been advocating for years. – Daryl Hall
And I’d be lying if I told you that as a black man in baseball I hadn’t gone through worse times than my teammates. – Curt Flood
After the Civil War, when blacks fought along whites to secure freedom for all, southern states enacted Black Codes, laws that restricted the civil rights and liberties of blacks. Central to the enforcement of these laws were the stiff penalties for blacks possessing firearms. – Niger Innis
I believe that the American audience is not so dumb that they wouldn’t be interested in a black story. – Euzhan Palcy
Growing up in Oakland, we did things like white t-shirt, blue jeans and Nikes. That was my get down, how I was going to rock. And if you look at me right now, I’m pretty much black tee, blue jeans and some sneakers. – Marshawn Lynch
The reason why Botswana has done very well is because it’s the only black African country which went back to its roots and built upon its own indigenous institutions. – George Ayittey
During the 2008 presidential campaign, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid marveled at the electability of Barack Obama because, unlike previous black candidates, Mr. Obama was ‘light-skinned’ and lacked a ‘Negro dialect.’ – Monica Crowley
I’m a gay black guy. If I can’t ask questions without caring what people think of me, who can? – Don Lemon
The network and local TV angle of broadcast television has received a black eye for not properly debating within the news issues that should be debated, instead of shuffling them of to television advertising. – Mark E. Hyman
Somehow I think it was declared very early on that I was the – if not the black sheep of the family, not a very good student. – Dustin Hoffman
I’ve never understood people who say they’re not a practicing Jew. You never hear a black guy say he’s not a practicing African-American. What does it even mean? – Gilbert Gottfried
My first reaction on being awarded the Nobel Prize was, actually, I thought of Fischer Black, my colleague. He unfortunately had passed away. And there was no doubt in my mind that if he were still alive, he would have been a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize. – Myron Scholes
When you’re 8 years old, and you’ve become subconsciously familiar with the layout and design of Black Sparrow books, and you know the difference between Miles Davis and John Coltrane, something is bound to stick. – Patrick deWitt
I hate the term ‘black’ because it doesn’t bring to life who we are as a people. The term ‘black’ has more negative synonyms than the term white. – Isaiah Washington
I liked masculine fabrics: Prince of Wales checks, city pinstripes, and flannels – worn with black tights, flattish shoes. – Mary Quant
The crisis of black politics can only be resolved through the development of multiclass, multiracial, progressive political structures. – Manning Marable
I would try to write ‘realistic’ fiction, and someone would fly, or there would be a black hole full of demons or a girl who attracted frogs. – Nnedi Okorafor
I grew up with a lot of friends who are white, black, Muslim, non-Muslim. I like people a lot. – Mo Farah
During the days of segregation, there was not a place of higher learning for African Americans. They were simply not welcome in many of the traditional schools. And from this backward policy grew the network of historical black colleges and universities. – Michael N. Castle
Listen, we’ve got one little ol’ black president, and white folks are upset, but they’ve had 43. – Paul Mooney
I’ll give you an example. Henry, the old black guy who cooks the corn bread, he worked on the railroads for about 20 years so he knows how to lay and build track. – Marc Singer
It’s very limiting to us as a species, the concept of better-than/less-than. It just seems to be at its end. I’m like, this all fades to black, and it’s gone. It’s dust. Choose carefully what you obsess about. – Meshell Ndegeocello
One day, out of irritation, I said, you know all of those years with the Royal Shakespeare Company, all those years of playing kings and princes and speaking black verse, and bestriding the landscape of England was nothing but a preparation for sitting in the captain’s chair of the Enterprise. – Patrick Stewart
Historically, black music has influenced other cultures and other genres and created other genres. – Miguel