I think the Civil Rights Movement changed that trajectory for me. The first thing I did was leave school. I was suspended for my participation in Movement demonstrations in my hometown, December, 1961.

Quote by Bernice Johnson Reagon

Topics: Bernice Johnson Reagon Quotes

The first job I had with the Smithsonian was as a field researcher among African...

The first job I had with the Smithsonian was as a field researcher among African...

It makes sense that whatever the topic is, it's more compelling if you can provide...

It makes sense that whatever the topic is, it's more compelling if you can provide...

In fact when Sweet Honey was ten years old it was too big for me...

In fact when Sweet Honey was ten years old it was too big for me...

The voice I have now, I got the first time I sang in a movement...

The voice I have now, I got the first time I sang in a movement...

Most people come out of their Ph.D. experience trying to prove themselves, trying to get...

Most people come out of their Ph.D. experience trying to prove themselves, trying to get...

I was at the Smithsonian for twenty years, and I'm still at the Smithsonian as...

I was at the Smithsonian for twenty years, and I'm still at the Smithsonian as...

I went to a church where you could not sing out loud in the service...

I went to a church where you could not sing out loud in the service...

But I'm a historian. I wasn't interested in just being a producer, I was interested...

But I'm a historian. I wasn't interested in just being a producer, I was interested...

One of the biggest things I understood in a program like that was that it...

One of the biggest things I understood in a program like that was that it...

So one of the things that happened with integration in the South is they found...

So one of the things that happened with integration in the South is they found...

Personally I discovered that you could go through the academy as a young scholar, come...

Personally I discovered that you could go through the academy as a young scholar, come...

I came out of the Civil Rights Movement, and I had a different kind of...

I came out of the Civil Rights Movement, and I had a different kind of...

And I used to think that proof that I had religion was whether I knew...

And I used to think that proof that I had religion was whether I knew...

There is nowhere you can go and only be with people who are like you....

There is nowhere you can go and only be with people who are like you....

Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who...

Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who...

The Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife, actually, was an effort to put something on the...

The Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife, actually, was an effort to put something on the...

At the same time all this was happening, there was a folk song revival movement...

At the same time all this was happening, there was a folk song revival movement...

Well, the first time I ran into the term religion, people were asking whether you...

Well, the first time I ran into the term religion, people were asking whether you...

When I started graduate school I was interested in the culture of the Civil Rights...

When I started graduate school I was interested in the culture of the Civil Rights...

I started graduate school in 1971, I started working at the Smithsonian in the festival...

I started graduate school in 1971, I started working at the Smithsonian in the festival...