James Weldon Johnson Quotes & Sayings (Page 2)

“The battle was first waged over the right of the Negro to be classed as a human being with a soul; later, as to whether he had sufficient intellect to master even the rudiments of learning; and today it is being fought out over his social recognition.”

“As I look back now I can see that I was a perfect little aristocrat.”

“My luck at the gambling table was varied; sometimes I was fifty to a hundred dollars ahead, and at other times I had to borrow money from my fellow workmen to settle my room rent and pay for my meals.”

“As yet, the Negroes themselves do not fully appreciate these old slave songs.”

“I had enjoyed life in Paris, and, taking all things into consideration, enjoyed it wholesomely.”

“I thought of Paris as a beauty spot on the face of the earth, and of London as a big freckle.”

“Any musical person who has never heard a Negro congregation under the spell of religious fervor sing these old songs has missed one of the most thrilling emotions which the human heart may experience.”

“But I must own that I also felt stirred by an unselfish desire to voice all the joys and sorrows, the hopes and ambitions, of the American Negro, in classic musical form.”

“Southern white people despise the Negro as a race, and will do nothing to aid in his elevation as such; but for certain individuals they have a strong affection, and are helpful to them in many ways.”

“When we arrived in London, my sadness at leaving Paris was turned into despair. After my long stay in the French capital, huge, ponderous, massive London seemed to me as ugly a thing as man could contrive to make.”