I started graduate school in 1971, I started working at the Smithsonian in the festival in 1972. I went full-time at the Smithsonian in 1974. And I got my doctorate in 1975.

Quote by Bernice Johnson Reagon

Topics: Bernice Johnson Reagon Quotes

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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...

I just don't think one person has that much to contribute to any subject.

I just don't think one person has that much to contribute to any subject.

I learned that if you bring black people together, you bring them together with a...

I learned that if you bring black people together, you bring them together with a...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

If I had been at a University I don't think I would have been able...

If I had been at a University I don't think I would have been able...

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...

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...

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...