The first job I had with the Smithsonian was as a field researcher among African American communities in Southwest Louisiana and Arkansas for the festival.

Quote by Bernice Johnson Reagon

Topics: Bernice Johnson Reagon Quotes

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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 think the Civil Rights Movement changed that trajectory for me. The first thing I...

I think the Civil Rights Movement changed that trajectory for me. The first thing I...

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...

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...

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 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 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...

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 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...

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...