"I have no desire to be white. I have no desire to be black. I have no desire to be anything but myself."

"I look at the world from awakening eyes in a black face—and this is what I see."

"I don't mind dying, but I hate to leave my friends."

"I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nob…"

"I've been a dishwasher, a cook, a busboy, a waiter, a laundress, a delivery boy, a truck driver, a chauffeur, a gardener, a bellhop, a doorman, a houseman, a janitor, a porter, a longshoreman, a seama…"