Amiri Baraka Quotes

The man who buried Malcolm X - my Muslim imam, priest - he, after I got beat up by police... came to me, and he said, 'You don't need this American name.' And I was susceptible to it at the time because, God knows, I had just gotten whipped near to death. So he gave me an Arab name; he gave me the name Amir Barakat.

Amiri Baraka

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Quotes to Explore

• I think a strong dollar is the result of policies, but I don't think the strong dollar is in and of itself a policy.

  

  Carly Fiorina
  • Think
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• I went to bed last night dreaming of tuna melts. I love food.

  

  Sam Smith
  • Love
  • Night
  • Food

• God made a mistake with me. I'm actually black, trapped in a white body.

  

  Watkin Tudor Jones
  • God
  • Black
  • Mistake

• That which prematurely arrives at perfection soon perishes.

  

  Quintilian
  • Perfection
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• All the time I was writing hit songs with my partner David Porter, I always had the yen to perform. Sure did. And when the opportunity came, I took it. The first album, 'Presenting Isaac Hayes,' didn't do so hot, but it was like a prelude for what was to come.

  

  Isaac Hayes
  • Time
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• I was living as a young single mom. I was 19 when I was divorced, and my daughter was a year old, and I waited tables here three to four nights a week for several years while I was trying to support myself and my daughter and the day I got that acceptance at Harvard Law School was an unforgettable day.

  

  Wendy Davis
  • Trying
  • School
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• I don't like controversy.

  

  Sammy Sosa
  • Like
  • Controversy

• One of the problems with posing a 'bold new plan' is that you can't just extrapolate from previous plans.

  

  Nathan Myhrvold
  • Problems
  • Plan
  • Bold

• I warm up with my mom and make sure I understand what the songs are about and make sure I'm using the right technique. To be honest with you, I really don't practice a lot... Usually, I say a prayer and ask the Lord to sing with me and help me and stand on the stage with me.

  

  Jackie Evancho
  • Up
  • Help
  • Mom

• When people refer to 'Back in the Day,' it was a Wednesday. Just a little fun fact for you.

  

  Dane Cook
  • People
  • Fun
  • Day

• I grew up on Marvel and, like, '2000 AD.'

  

  Edgar Wright
  • Up
  • Like
  • Marvel

• I grew up in California, and when I read that Proposition 8 was on the ballot, I was disappointed because it seemed to be inconsistent with the spirit of the state, with the independence and diversity of the frontier that California has always been.

  

  Ted Olson
  • Up
  • California
  • Diversity

• I might go on discussing this subject at great length, but after all is said, done, and written, my own book of experiences will best show what these obstacles are, and how I managed to overcome them to some extent.

  

  Major Taylor
  • Great
  • Done
  • Book

• The so-called skills gap is really a gap in education, and that affects all of us.

  

  Adam Davidson
  • Education
  • Really
  • Skills

• Happiness exists only if you have a lot of people to share it with.

  

  Ranbir Kapoor
  • People
  • You
  • Happiness

• There's some quality you get when you're not totally comfortable. When you're not doing what you're used to, you could completely fall on your face. You could completely blow it.

  

  Beck
  • Fall
  • Quality
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• Send out a cheerful, positive greeting, and most of the time you will get back a cheerful, positive greeting. It's also true that if you send out a negative greeting, you will, in most cases, get back a negative greeting.

  

  Zig Ziglar
  • Time
  • True
  • Positive

• The little trouble in the world that is not due to love is due to friendship.

  

  E. W. Howe
  • World
  • Love
  • Friendship

• I grew up in Birmingham, but my parents are originally from Barbados. My dad, Romeo, was a long-distance lorry driver, and my mother, Mayleen, worked in catering.

  

  David Harewood
  • Up
  • Long
  • Mother

• I remember being totally enamored with Sid Caesar.

  

  Vicki Lawrence
  • Remember
  • Being
  • I Remember

• If you don't hire at least one or two people that are smarter than you are, then you're a terrible manager and I don't need you.

  

  Nolan Bushnell
  • People
  • Manager
  • Hire

• I think music is the greatest art form that exists, and I think people listen to music for different reasons, and it serves different purposes. Some of it is background music, and some of it is things that might affect a person's day, if not their life, or change an attitude. The best songs are the ones that make you feel something.

  

  Eddie Vedder Pearl Jam
  • People
  • Life
  • Music

• People are always surprised when they spend time with my children by how normal they are. They're polite. They're well mannered. They're very down to earth, in a way.

  

  Donatella Versace
  • People
  • Time
  • Children

• The man who buried Malcolm X - my Muslim imam, priest - he, after I got beat up by police... came to me, and he said, 'You don't need this American name.' And I was susceptible to it at the time because, God knows, I had just gotten whipped near to death. So he gave me an Arab name; he gave me the name Amir Barakat.

  

  Amiri Baraka
  • Up
  • Time
  • God