Lena Horne Quotes

15 quotations by Lena Horne

Young people today would get a great deal of encouragement from knowing how close we could be if we had a man like Dr. King around.

You have to be taught to be second class; you're not born that way.

My identity is very clear to me now, I am a black woman.

Malcolm X raised my consciousness about myself and my people and other people more than any person I know. I knew him before he became Malcolm X.

Malcolm X made me very strong at a time I needed to understand what I was angry about. He had peace in his heart. He exerted a big influence on me.

It's so nice to get flowers while you can still smell the fragrance.

I was lucky, as many of my generation was, in having a man like Dr. King in our lives. He came at a time that we needed to take a long look at each other and see how similar we were.

I want to sing like Aretha Franklin. Before her I wanted the technical ability of Ella Fitzgerald.

I told them I belong to the same organizations and clubs Mrs. Roosevelt belongs to, but with a few brave exceptions, I was still unable to do films or television for the next seven years.

I remember the day tDr. King died. I wasn't angry at the beginning. It was like something very personal in my life had been touched and finished.

I made a promise to myself to be kinder to other people.

I don't have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped I'd become. I'm me, and I'm like nobody else.

Every color I can think of and nationality, we were all touched by Dr. King because he made us like each other and respect each other.

Don't be afraid to feel as angry or as loving as you can, because when you feel nothing, it's just death.

Always be smarter than the people who hire you.