I Shall Take My Voice Wherever There

In My Music, My Plays, My Films, I Want To Carry Always This Central Idea: To Be African.

Every Artist, Every Scientist, Every Writer Must Decide Now Where He Stands. The Artist Must Take Sides. He Must Elect To Fight For Freedom Or For Slavery. I Have Made My Choice. I Had No Alternative.

I Do Not Hesitate One Second To State Clearly And Unmistakably: I Belong To The American Resistance Movement Which Fights Against American Imperialism, Just As The Resistance Movement Fought Against Hitler.

In The Early Days Of My Carer As An Actor, I Shared What Was Then The Prevailing Attitude Of Negro Performers :;that The Content And Form Of A Play Or A Film Scenario Was Of Little Importance To Us. What Mattered Was Was The Opportunity, Which Came So Seldom To Our Folks ... Later I Came To Understand That The Negro Artist Could Not View The Matter Simply In Terms Of Of His Individual Interests, And That He Had A Responsibility To His People Who Rightfully Resented The Traditional Stereotyped Portrayals Of Negros On Stage And Screen.

Through The Years I Have Received My Share Of Recognition For Efforts In The Fields Of Sports, The Arts, The Struggle For Full Citizenship For The Negro People, Labor's Rights And The Fight For Peace.