Ralph Ellison Quotes
I am not ashamed of my grandparents for having been slaves. I am only ashamed of myself for having at one time being ashamed.
Quotes to Explore
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Nothing improves your confidence and brings a team together more than winning a cup.
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I always point out to my Passover guests that the Hebrews were not living in isolation. They were at the crossroads of several great, elaborate cultures with their own mythology and religion and art and architecture and cultural belief. In fact, so many of the mythologies of the world describe the same events, just from different points of view.
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I want to do roles that take women a step farther. I don't want to be slotted into anything. But if I get a brilliant role which requires me to be a mother, then I will do it. But I want people to see that a woman could be anything at whatever age, even if she is married or has two kids.
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Only the mob and the elite can be attracted by the momentum of totalitarianism itself. The masses have to be won by propaganda.
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When I was prepping for my Broadway debut as Romeo, it really hit me that I had never done that. I had trained at drama school for three years in my late teens to early 20s, and I'd studied Shakespeare, of course, but I hadn't actually performed it. So to do something like Romeo for my first Broadway role was a challenge.
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There is something about poverty that smells like death.
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We're all capable of mistakes, but I do not care to enlighten you on the mistakes we may or may not have made.
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Whither goest thou, America, in thy shiny car in the night?
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But at the beginning it was clear to me that concrete poetry was peculiarly suited for using in public settings. This was my idea, but of course I never really much got the chance to do it.
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I always say you can never be extravagant with beauty. Beauty is God made real. Beauty is life.
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I had a passport where I wrote 'artist' under 'occupation' and I remember thinking, 'That's it, it's proved!'
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At times, training at home is a distraction, so training in Big Bear was a really good change.
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My mum brought me up to think that personal happiness is more important than your family.
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You hesitate to stab me with a word, and know not - silence is the sharper sword.
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I'm rap's vigilante. I'm out for justice.
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When I was 14, and for the next four years, I was lifting and hauling 10-gallon milk cans full of milk. That will put muscles on you even if you're not trying.
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You know, God has a plan for me, and I'm going to follow in his footsteps and just rejoice and be happy.
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It's better to make fun of yourself because you've always got someone around to make fun of, and they can't sue you.
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Any decision that's made about my career is ultimately my decision, and it's helped me not to plan too much. I've never been the guy thinking, 'I want to do a play this year, I want to do this kind of movie or this kind of character.' I don't have that sort of control.
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Why, flowers are violent, cruel, terrible and splendid... like love!
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From a counter-intelligence viewpoint, the OPM breach is really scary - but if we continue to see the erosion of purely commercial enterprises, where people lose confidence, the economy falters.
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If you become involved with me, you will be throwing yourself into the abyss.
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When I was growing up, we learned our history almost as lives of the saints. And it came as a shock, "Oh, Jefferson had slaves?" It always comes as a shock to us that elevation to the White House didn't somehow cleanse them of all their deep character flaws.
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I am not ashamed of my grandparents for having been slaves. I am only ashamed of myself for having at one time being ashamed.
