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

Quote by Bernice Johnson Reagon

Topics: Bernice Johnson Reagon Quotes

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...

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 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.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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...