Marley Dias Quotes

In a typical history book, black Americans are mentioned in the context of slavery or civil rights. There's so much more to the story.

Black culture has been a huge influence in my life.

Black history is American history.

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

'Smart Funny and Black' is basically a live black pop culture game show that I created. We have a live band. We have two contestants that we call 'blacksperts.' They come on stage and compete in games that I've created that test their knowledge of black culture, black history, and the black experience.

In the imagination, Harlem will always be the spiritual capital of black excellence in America.

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

Harlem's streets lead backward, into history, straight to a work such as 'This Was Harlem.'

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

It is my hope that as we commemorate Black History Month in the future, we will continue to celebrate the many achievements and rich culture of African-Americans.

I did a book in 1996, an overview of black history. In that process I became more aware of a lot of the black inventors of the 19th century.

American music culture is black culture.

From blood banking to the modern subway, from jazz to social justice, the contributions of African Americans have shaped and molded and influenced our national culture and our national character.

I'm sort of obsessed with Harlem. Just its history. My father did the music for a play called 'The Huey P. Newton Story,' and they did a lot of work in Harlem. So as a little girl, I spent a lot of time in Harlem Library.

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

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

Growing up as a product of the black civil-rights movement, I had a lot of different models for black weirdness, whether it's Richard Pryor or James Baldwin or Jimmy Walker.

I think the blues is the best literature that we as blacks have created since we've been here. I call it our 'sacred book.' What I've attempted to do is to mine that field, to mine those cultural ideas and attitudes and give them to my characters.

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.

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

As long as black people preserve their culture in Harlem, Harlem will always be alive.

The history of Black Americans in South Carolina is riddled with trials and tribulations.

Black History Month is in the shortest month of the year, and the coldest-just in case we want to have a parade

Jimmy Baldwin was not only a writer, an international literary figure: he was a man, spirit, voice - old and black and terrible as that first ancestor.

Black history is part of American history, and it should be treated as such.