So one of the things that happened with integration in the South is they found that the black teachers were much more educated than the white teachers.

Quote by Bernice Johnson Reagon

Topics: Bernice Johnson Reagon Quotes

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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.

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....

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...