If The American Negro Is To Have

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.

The Talents Of An Artist, Small Or Large, Are God-given... They Are A Sacred Trust.

The Artist Must Elect To Fight For Freedom Or For Slavery.

Freedom Is A Hard-bought Thing.

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.