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Bernice Johnson Reagon

Bernice Johnson Reagon Books

Singer

Bernice Johnson Reagon is an accomplished American singer and social activist. Born on October 4, 1942, she is renowned for her active participation in the Civil Rights and feminist movements. Reagon's musical works profoundly reflect themes of social justice and racial equality, and her voice and leadership have inspired generations of protesters.

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Related Quotes

“Today whenever women gather together it is not necessarily nurturing. It is coalition building. And if you feel the strain, you may be doing some good work.”

Ifs Feels May Today Together Work Building Good Work Strain Nurturing Coalitions

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“What would you be like if you had white hair and had not given up your principles? It might be wise as you deal with coalition efforts to think about the possibilities of going for fifty years.”

Ifs Thinking Years Might Given White Deals Effort Principles Wise Possibility Hair Fifty Given Up Being Wise Coalitions White Hair

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“Coming up in the African-American culture, we were taught that we belonged to the universe and society was wrong in the way it dealt with us. We had to learn to express and affirm values not from the winning position.”

Way Values Culture Universe Winning Position Taught African American American Culture African American Culture

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

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

“The voice I have now, I got the first time I sang in a movement meeting, after I got out of jail... and I'd never heard it before in my life.”

Firsts Voice Heard Movement First Time Meetings Jail

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

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

School Culture Rights Movement Civil Rights Graduates Civil Rights Movement Graduate School

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“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.”

School Graduates Festivals Graduate School Doctorates Smithsonian

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“In fact when Sweet Honey was ten years old it was too big for me to run, and I knew it, but I ran it for another thirteen years because I couldn't convince other people to really do it. And this year, I'm not running it.”

People Years Facts Bigs Running Sweet Ten Ran Convince Honey Thirteen Sweet Honey

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“There is nowhere you can go and only be with people who are like you. Give it up.”

People Giving Peace Like You Ubuntu

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“If we dwell in a community that is comfortable, then it's probably not broad enough a coalition.”

Ifs Enough Community Democracy Comfortable Broads Coalitions

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“The Civil Rights Movement also reaffirmed me as a singer. It taught me that singing was not entertainment, it was something else.”

Rights Movement Taught Singing Entertainment Singers Civil Rights Civil Rights Movement

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“If, in moving through your life, you find yourself lost, go back to the last place where you knew who you were, and what you were doing, and start from there.”

Ifs Lasts Moving Lost Finding Yourself Last Place

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“I organized Sweet Honey In The Rock in 1973. The music was sanity and balance.”

Rocks Sweet Balance Organized Honey Sanity Sweet Honey

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“At the same time all this was happening, there was a folk song revival movement goingon, so the commercial music industry was actually changed by the Civil Rights Movement.”

Song Rights Movement Changed Industry Happenings Folks Civil Rights Revival Civil Rights Movement Music Industry Folk Songs Commercial Music

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“And I used to think that proof that I had religion was whether I knew how to sing all of the songs.”

Thinking Used Song Proof

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

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

Thinking Persons Subjects

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“If I had been at a University I don't think I would have been able to have the experience I had in my Smithsonian work. I don't think I have been as successful”

Ifs Thinking Has Beens Able Successful University Smithsonian

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“I was at the Smithsonian for twenty years, and I'm still at the Smithsonian as a curator emeritus, and I still plan to figure out what that means for me at this point in my life”

Years Mean Stills Plans Figures Twenties Curator Smithsonian

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“But I'm a historian. I wasn't interested in just being a producer, I was interested in doing research and presenting that research to a general public”

Research Producers Historian Just Being Presenting General Public

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“Well, the first time I ran into the term religion, people were asking whether you had any. You know, some people had religion and some people didn't have religion”

People Knows Firsts Wells Term First Time Asking Ran

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“The Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife, actually, was an effort to put something on the mall in Washington so American tourists could walk through America, and in their minds everything on the mall would be American”

Mind Would Be America Walks Effort Festivals Tourists Tourism Malls Smithsonian

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

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

Church Saved Loud

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“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”

Thinking Firsts School Rights Movement Changed Civil Rights Participation Demonstration Civil Rights Movement December Hometown Suspended Trajectory Civil Right Movement

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“I came out of the Civil Rights Movement, and I had a different kind of focus than most people who have just the academic background as their primary training experience”

People Kind Different Focus Rights Movement Training Backgrounds Civil Rights Primaries Academic Different Kinds Civil Rights Movement Civil Right Movement

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“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.”

Found Black White Teacher Happened South Educated Integration

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“If you're in a coalition and you're comfortable, you know it's not a broad enough coalition.”

Ifs Knows Enough Comfortable Broads Coalitions

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“If every moment is sacred and if you are amazed and in awe most of the time when you find yourself breathing and not crazy, then you are in a state of constant thankfulness, worship and humility.”

Ifs States Moments Crazy Humility Worship Sacred Constant Breathing Awe Finding Yourself Amazed Thankfulness

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“Welcome to prekindergarten! You will not die if you discover that there are more lines out there than just your own. In fact, you'll discover that you will have an advantage if you know more of them!”

Ifs Knows Facts Dies Lines Justice Advantage Welcome

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“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.”

Firsts Jobs Community Fields African American Festivals Researchers Louisiana Arkansas Smithsonian

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“Mothering/nurturing is a vital force and process establishing relationships throughout the universe.”

Universe Force Process Nurturing Mothering Establishing Relationships

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“I learned that if you bring black people together, you bring them together with a song. To this day, I don't understand how people think they can bring anybody together without a song.”

People Ifs Thinking Together Song Black This Day Black People

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“It makes sense that whatever the topic is, it's more compelling if you can provide the audience with a range of perspectives, and you can cross disciplines. And you don't have to control what people take out of it.”

People Ifs Audience Perspective Discipline Crosses Make Sense Range Compelling Topics

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“Most people come out of their Ph.D. experience trying to prove themselves, trying to get ahead, trying to get published. You're scared everybody else is going to do your research and get your topic.”

People Trying Prove Research Scared Topics Get Ahead

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“Personally I discovered that you could go through the academy as a young scholar, come out, and almost immediately have an impact on the academic environment.”

Young Environment Impact Academic Scholar Academy

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

About the Author

Born: October 4, 1942
Known for: Singer
Quotes: 34

Related Topics

Ifs People Movement Thinking Civil Rights Civil Rights Movement Rights Smithsonian Coalitions Firsts

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People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

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