We make a mistake forsaking England and moving out into the periphery of life. After all, Taormina, Ceylon, Africa, America -- as far as we go, they are only the negation of what we ourselves stand for and are: and we're rather like Jonahs running away from the place we belong.
A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.
One does not inhabit a country; one inhabits a language. That is our country, our fatherland - and no other.
Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.
Ancient Egypt was a Negro Civilization. The history of Black Africa will remain suspended in air and cannot be written correctly until African historians dare to connect it with the history of Egypt.
My family is from Morocco, and I was born and raised in Canada, but I'm an Indian at heart, for sure.
I may not know who I am, but I know where I am from.
While I resonate deeply with my maternal cultural heritage, I identify as American.
I don't know, 'Zorro' was just so great for me because, knowing where I came from, everyone spoke Spanish to me, like, forever after that. And I'm, like, from Wales.
I'm part Jewish and part Christian, but I'm mostly Jewish.
With immigrant parents, they've had to sacrifice so much to survive, and they're trying to preserve the culture they lost, so there are just so many boundaries.
Visit to Africa reshaped my point-of-view of colonialism. It reshaped my point-of-view of my own sense of source, and my own place of birth. It made it more organic inside of me, because it placed me in a position where my job was to understand and to become more African.
A nation that forgets its past can function no better than an individual with amnesia.
Apart from life, a strong constitution, and an abiding connection to the Thembu royal house, the only thing my father bestowed upon me at birth was a name, Rolihlahla.
Palestine is our unforgettable historic home. The very name would be a force of marvelous potency for summoning our people together.
My mother was born in Sinaloa, and she moved to Los Angeles when she was three years old. My father was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and moved here when he was 19. They met at the Palladium in Hollywood, and they've been together from that moment on.
My grandparents from the old country, Latvia, were all musical on my father's side.
All we have and are is based on the Christian faith, which has shaped law, government, morals, music, landscape, and education here for a thousand years.
I have roots in Jabalpur and that's as Indian as it can get.
I love my people's history. I feel a huge responsibility to tell the stories of my past and my ancestors' past.
I was born in Okinawa, but on a U.S. Army base. And my father is Japanese-American which means that he is second generation, but my mom was born in the Philippines and raised in Okinawa. So, how do you know where you are generationally from? I can claim all three legitimately, but I like to say that I am third generation American.
Almost any American can connect on some level to a family background of having come across some ocean. They say, 'My great-grandparents came from wherever... this is why we have this last name, why we do this thing at Christmas.' All the details get watered down but don't quite disappear.
Ancestry is most important to those who have done nothing themselves.
See, food I can talk about. I'm Italian, I know the food.
My father was a dark-skinned brother, but my mother was a very fair-skinned lady. From what I understand, she was Creole; we think her people originally came from New Orleans. She looked almost like a white woman, which meant she could pass - as folks used to say back then. Her hair was jet-black. She was slim and very attractive.
