Thomas Chatterton Williams Quotes

As a child, I experienced black culture as many people did in America: on the TV, radio, and stages.

There is no monolithic black culture. It's completely different for someone born in Harlem to someone born in Houston or London with one exception, which is that people contributing to black culture have the experience of being black.

You can't just say in one sentence what is blackness or what is black culture or what makes you who you are.

I love being black in America, and especially being black in Hollywood.

I do consider myself part of black history.

Typically, there's this perspective among writers - and black writers: there's this idea that there is one person - and maybe beyond writers - among blacks, there is always one person who everyone should go to learn about all things black.

I wanted to explore black culture, and I wanted that culture to be a revelation.

I viewed black musicals before 'Jelly' as a form of cultural strip mining. The exterior remained, but all the culture that signified where the people had come from and their connection to the earth was absent.

Slaves and the descendants of slaves created world pop culture. Let's keep it real and be very respectful about that.

To me, Harlem is one of the most important places on the earth, particularly when it comes to talking about African Americans.

Black culture - we dance and sing. We're entertainers. James Brown said it best: the things we are make people want to be like us.

When I was growing up, 'Ebony Magazine' was a must read in our household. In those pages I found our news, our stories, and my pride.

I read every one of the books on the shelf marked American Negro Literature. I became a nationalist, a colour nationalist, through the writings of men and women who lived a world away from me.

Black culture has been a huge influence in my life.

There haven't been enough profound things written about what being black means and what a black character is. Nobody knows.

There's no question that I'm African-American. OK? I'm a black man. We're not going to escape that.

American music culture is black culture.

I don't think I'm really so unique. If every black person looked at their life they would quickly discover that they have been influenced by every type of music prevalent in America.

My composition often goes toward the black middle class or the black super-wealthy or strong historical black figures.

I'm a sponge for historical images of black people and black history on film.

I was brought up in black neighborhoods in South Baltimore. And we really felt like we were very black. We acted black and we spoke black. When I was a kid growing up, where I came from, it was hip to be black. To be white was kind of square.

We must canonize our own saints, create our own martyrs … black men and women who have made their distinct contributions to our racial history.

There is a distinctive African American culture that has roots in Africa and evolved on American soil.

America is deeply rooted in Negro culture: its colloquialisms; its humor; its music.

Blacks in America want to forget about slavery - the stigma, the shame. If you can't be who you are, who can you be? How can you know what to do? We have our history. We have our book, and that is the blues.