Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes

I discovered that there is Indian blood in my ancestry on my father's side - a fact that had not been talked about in my family. No wonder I've often been cast in exotic roles - Indian princesses, Russian revolutionaries, Algerians, Gypsies and Greeks.

All nationalism is based on racism and hate. I'm Scottish; I was born in Scotland, as my parents, as my grandparents.

Racism is earthbound - it's something we only do to each other here on earth. Legacy, on the other hand, is otherworldly. It pushes us forward to our future.

From my situation as an African American person in the U.S., people may look at me and think a certain thing without getting to know me. I'm of Nigerian and Caribbean heritage. I went to Yale. What you see is not what you think you're getting.

Son, you can't go around painting yourself black, you hear?" "Why not, Papa?" "Because they'll take you away." "Why?" "Because you shouldn't want to be like black people or Jewish people or anyone who is...not us." "Who are Jewish people?" "You know my oldest customer, Mr. Kaufmann? Where we bought your shoes?" "Yes." "Well, he's Jewish." "I didn't know that. Do you have to pay to be Jewish? Do you need a license?" ..... "...you've got beautiful blond hair and big safe blue eyes. You should be happy with that; is that clear?

I have Indian Blood in me. I have just enough white blood for you to question my honesty!

You must begin to define yourself. You must begin to define your Black heritage.

Negro blood is sure powerful, because just one drop of black blood makes a colored man. One drop--you are a Negro! . . . Black is powerful.

"Race." I really can't understand it as anything other than something people say. The people who have said that you and I are both "black" and therefore deserve a certain kind of interaction with the world, they make race. I can't take them seriously.

I get offended when people say, 'So, being a white rapper...and growing up white...after being born white...' It's all I ever hear!

Many black people I know are proud of the Irish part of their heritage - an Irish grandparent, say - but they recognise that many people believe in a form of racial purity. And it is from that belief that prejudice starts.

There is more racial prejudice in India than anywhere else in the world.

I never though much about race.

I'm very aware of my own background. I'm Irish, French, and then a little bit of everything else thrown in, ranging from German to Native American. We're talking about tiny drops of blood.

I had a white senator call me a rag head, and I had an African-American legislator call me a conservative with a tan.

People would write me hate letters. How dare I try to represent Hispanics when I was so white? I tried to make them see it was racism.

I couldn't adjust to the racism in Florida. It was so blatant... I had never been so described as Florida described me.

If we were to wake up some morning and find that everyone was the same race, creed and color, we would find some other causes for prejudice by noon.

I've known where my heritage is from all along.

If I was in a room with a bunch of skinheads talking about racism, then I would be disturbed, but after we finished a take, we were normal people again.

We know what racist people look like. They don't deny it. They just don't!

There's a big difference between race and culture. Because racially, I'm an Indian man. Culturally, not at all.

I know I'm not an anti-Semitic person.

Sure, I've listed myself as Cuban-American. That's my heritage and my background.

I'm not anti-Semitic. I'm anti-white.