African American Quotes - Page 17

• African Americans watch the same news at night that ordinary Americans do.

  William J. Clinton

  Stupid, Night, Ordinary

  Clinton, William J. (1995). “Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton, 1994”, p.1940, Best Books on

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• This is a landmark work in the history of African American studies and American intellectual history. Writing with verve, Jackson brings to life a large cast of characters and traces an ongoing conversation among the writers and critics of this period. This book is likely to become a model for a new generation of scholars, both for the breadth of its engagement and the depth of its archival research.

  Werner Sollors

  Book, Writing, Character

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• I feel like I come from a smaller off shoot of black people because I am mixed. People say I’m African American but that doesn’t include the other half of me.

  Maya Rudolph

  People, Black, Half

  Interview with Melissa Silverstein, www.huffingtonpost.com. July 6, 2009.

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• You see the one thing I've always maintained is that I'm an American Indian. I'm not a Native American. I'm not politically correct. Everyone who's born in the Western Hemisphere is a Native American. We are all Native Americans. And if you notice, I put American before my ethnicity. I'm not a hyphenated African-American or Irish-American or Jewish-American or Mexican-American.

  Russell Means

  Native American, Ethnicity, Mexican

  "Biography/Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

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• We were born with natural rights. We don't need civil rights. [African-Americans] don't need civil rights. They don't need them. They have inalienable rights granted by God in the Constitution. I mean, I'm discriminated against all the time. I don't care. It doesn't bother me. [I'm discriminated against] because I'm old. I'm too old to get a job as a game show host. They say, well, the guy's 71 and in five years he'll be 76. And I'm a one per center, and I'm absolutely discriminated against as a one per center.

  Chuck Woolery

  Jobs, Mean, Rights

  "Michele Bachmann At CPAC: Former GOP Candidate Slams Prop 8 Ruling, Meets Chuck Woolery" by Michelangelo Signorile, www.huffingtonpost.com. February 10, 2012.

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• I don’t believe it is possible to transcend race in this country. Race is a factor in this society. The legacy of Jim Crow and slavery has not gone away. It is not an accident that African-Americans experience high crime rates, are poor, and have less wealth. It is a direct result of our racial history.

  Barack Obama

  Country, Believe, Race

  "On the Road with Barack Obama". www.essence.com. December, 16, 2009.

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• I never said I wasn’t Black… I want to make that very clear. I said, I am not African-American. I never expected my personal beliefs and comments to spark such emotion in people. I think it is only positive when we can openly discuss race and being labeled in America.

  Raven-Symone

  Thinking, Race, America

  "Raven-Symone responds to Oprah interview Backlash: 'I never said I wasn't black' by Emily Lindner, www.mtv.com. October 8, 2012.

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• Let's face it: Many on the political right believe this president ought not to be there - they oppose him not for his polices and political view but for who he is, an African American!

  Sam Donaldson

  Believe, Views, Political

  "Sam Donaldson Rejects Comparison To Reporter Who Interrupted Obama". Donaldson's email to The Huffington Post, www.huffingtonpost.com. June 16, 2012.

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• There are so few guys who do action and do it well. Even fewer who are African-American. Even fewer who have classical-theater training. So a cat like me coming in, I'm bringing all of that to an action movie.

  Wesley Snipes

  Cat, Guy, Training

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• Sen. Joe Biden, on the day of announcing his candidacy for president of the United States, called Barack Obama the first mainstream African-American who is articulate, bright, and . . . clean. I think we've seen the shortest presidential campaign in history.

  Jay Leno

  Thinking, Presidential, Biden

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• Does a black person make them an African American? No. There are Hispanics that are very, very dark skinned so the word has lost its meaning, it's not a very concise or proper word to use even today and it wasn't then.

  Pam Grier

  Dark, Black, Doe

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• Will African-Americans break away from the pack thinking and reject immorality-- because that's the reason the family's breaking apart--alcohol, drugs, infidelity. You have to reject that, and it doesn't seem--and I'm broadly speaking here, but a lot of African-Americans won't reject it

  Bill O'Reilly

  Thinking, Alcohol, Drug

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• Don't settle for average. Bring your best to the moment. Then, whether it fails or succeeds, at least you know you gave all you had. We need to live the best that's in us.

  Angela Bassett

  Inspirational, Motivational, Women

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• Yeah, remember, under the Bush administration, welfare — I mean, excuse me, poverty among African Americans and among single unmarried women, poverty was at the lowest rate ever in the history of this country. So Obama’s policies are not working, Bush polices worked! For long a time as a matter of fact.

  Rick Santorum

  Country, Mean, Long

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• The most dangerous place for an African-American in this country is in the womb.

  Rick Santorum

  Country, Womb, Dangerous

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• There is no way that we know what is going on between the African American and the Asian American. We don't understand what an Indigenous American is. We don't understand what a Latino American is

  Edward James Olmos

  Asian, Way, Latino

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• Since 1957, black people have experienced double-digit unemployment - in good times and bad times. Look at the population of African Americans in prison. They represent more than half the population of prisoners in the country, 55 percent of those on death row

  Danny Glover

  Country, People, Black

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• I'm Kan, the Louis Vouitton don / Bought my mom purse, now she Louis Vuitton mom / Still might throw on a little low arm they want me to stop go on gon / They don't want me to shop and me spending that hard / Oh My God is that a Black card / I turned around and replied why yes, but I prefer the term African American Express

  Kanye West

  Mom, Stars, Hands

  "Song: 'Better Than Yours' ('Kon the Louis Vuitton Don')". 2004.

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• I mean it used to be, there was a time … when lynchings of African Americans were not that incredibly rare. Now the lynchings are the police and it's just an outrage.

  Ben Stein

  Mean, Lynching, Police

  "Black Gain Is White Pain — How the White Right Justifies Racial Injustice" by Leonce Gaiter, www.huffingtonpost.com. September 9, 2014.

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• I believe in individuality, that everybody is special, and it's up to them to find that quality and let it live.

  Grace Jones

  Believe, Inspiration, Individuality

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• African American Congressman Bobby Rush wore a hoodie on the floor of Congress to make a point this week. And they threw him out. They said a hoodie is too scary for Congress. Too scary? Have you ever looked into Michele Bachmann's eyes?

  Bill Maher

  Eye, Scary, Week

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• I don't see how any African-American, with any inkling of history, can say that you don't have the right to live your life how you want to live your life. No one should be telling you who you should love, no one should be telling you who you should be spending the rest of your life with. When we start talking about equality, and everybody being treated equally, I don't want to know an African-American who will say everybody doesn't deserve equality.

  Michael Irvin

  Talking, Live Your Life, Want

  "Michael Irvin: The Playmaker Preaches" by Cyd Zeigler, www.out.com. July 11, 2011.

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• More people are on food stamps today because of Obamas policies than ever in history. I would like to be the best paycheck president in American history. ... And so Im prepared if the NAACP invites me, Ill go to their convention and talk about why the African-American community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps.

  Newt Gingrich

  People, Community, President

  "What Newt said about food stamps" by Dylan Byers, www.politico.com. January 6, 2012.

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• I will go to the NAACP convention, and explain to the African-American community why they should demand paychecks instead of food stamps.

  Newt Gingrich

  Community, Demand, Food Stamps

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• I wanted to show that an African-American artist could make it in this country on a national level in the graphic arts. I want to be a strong role model for my family and for other African Americans.

  Jerry Pinkney

  Country, Art, Strong

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