Anna Deavere Smith
Anna Deavere Smith
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionActress
Date of Birth18 September 1950
CountryUnited States of America
black boys chase chasing culture gate guards incredible living major midst obvious reaction seen usc white
I think a lot of L.A. is something like USC - this incredible white culture living in the midst of color, and no obvious reaction to it at all. I mean, they have guards at the gate at USC - guards at the gate of a major university! And the guards chase young black boys away - I've seen it, chasing 8-year-old boys.
baltimore came course people
Because of the generation in which I came into the world, there were expectations. Of course there were expectations. It was something having to do with being a respectable Negro woman who would make the people in Baltimore proud.
came debates race since talk talking willing work
I talk about race a lot. It's been my work ever since I came out of acting school. But it's true that in a way talking about race is a taboo. Because so many of our debates about race have to do not with race but with what we are willing to see, what we will not see and what we don't want to see.
life
In my own life I'm frequently in predominantly white atmospheres.
creditors government owe powers
We owe the government taxes. We owe our creditors interest. What do these powers owe us?
father funeral remember
I remember from my father's funeral that the minister kept using a metaphor about life of a prism. And I took that away like a cherished image.
documentaries resources filmmaker
I would love to have been a documentary filmmaker; I just didn't have the resources to do that.
hard-work thinking doctors
I have a lot of optimism about new doctors because I think it's really clear that it's a lot of hard work and no guarantee of a lot of money.
political haute-couture language
I call the language of political figures, pundits and administrators 'the haute couture of language.'
upside-down moments possibility
I'm interested when things are upside down - because there are so many possibilities in that one moment. There is a lot that is exposed.
listening three way
If I do three interviews in a day, I can be exhausted, because the process of hearing everyone requires that I empty out myself. While I'm listening, my own judgments and prejudices certainly come up. But I know I won't get anything unless I get those things out of the way.
doe exploration explorers
You are an explorer. You understand that every time you go into the studio, you are after something that does not yet exist.
communication reality desire
Your desire to communicate must be bigger than your relationship with the chaotic and unfair realities.
enough ifs
If you say a word often enough it becomes you.