Anna Deavere Smith Quotes & Sayings

“You know if we were to look back and how we were in 1955 living in Jim Crow, living in segregation, living in segregated schools, it's hard to believe that it was America, but it really was.”

“Friendship is a wildly underrated medication.”

“Identity is an assemblage of constellations.”

“I am interested in personal stories because that's when people become expressive, spontaneous and heartfelt.”

“President Obama called for a 'we' nation in his Inauguration Address. Art convenes. It is not just inspirational. It is aspirational. It pricks the walls of our compartmentalized minds, opens our hearts and makes us brave. And that's what we need most in our country today.”

“Learning is a tunnel experience that makes us think more broadly.”

“I'm interested when things are upside down - because there are so many possibilities in that one moment. There is a lot that is exposed.”

“Racism has been for everyone like a horrible, tragic car crash, and we've all been heavily sedated from it. If we don't come into consciousness of this tragedy, there's going to be a violent awakening we don't want. The question is, can we wake up?”

“Listening is not just hearing what someone tells you word for word. You have to listen with a heart. I don't want that to sound touchy-feely; it is not. It is very hard work.”

“My main concern is theater, and theater does not reflect or mirror society. It has been stingy and selfish, and it has to do better.”