And, Gentlemen, They Have Not Yet Done

I Am Truly Happy That I Am Able To Travel From Time To Time To The Ussr The Country I Love Above All. I Always Have Been, I Am Now And Will Always Be A Loyal Friend Of The Soviet Union.

Yes, I Heard My People Singing!-in The Glow Of Parlor Coal-stove And On Summer Porches Sweet With Lilac Air, From Choir Loft And Sunday Morning Pews-and My Soul Was Filled With Their Harmonies. Then, Too, I Heard These Songs In The Very Sermons Of My Father, For In The Negro's Speech There Is Much Of The Phrasing And Rhythms Of Folk-song. The Great, Soaring Gospels We Love Are Merely Sermons That Are Sung; And As We Thrill To Such Gifted Gospel Singers As Mahalia Jackson, We Hear The Rhythmic Eloquence Of Our Preachers, So Many Of Whom, Like My Father, Are Masters Of Poetic Speech.

Americans Will Be Amazed To Find Ho Many Of The Modern Dance Steps Are Relics Of The African Heritage.

I Stand Here Struggling For The Rights Of My People To Be Full Citizens In This Country. They Are Not-in Mississippi. They Are Not-in Montgomery. That Is Why I Am Here Today. . . . You Want To Shut Up Every Colored Person Who Wants To Fight For The Rights Of His People!.

As An Artist I Come To Sing, But As A Citizen, I Will Always Speak For Peace, And No One Can Silence Me In This.