Anna Deavere Smith
Anna Deavere Smith
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionActress
Date of Birth18 September 1950
CountryUnited States of America
Anna Deavere Smith quotes about
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.
creditors government owe powers
We owe the government taxes. We owe our creditors interest. What do these powers owe us?
documentaries resources filmmaker
I would love to have been a documentary filmmaker; I just didn't have the resources to do that.
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.
caring thinking way
I think we need leadership that helps us remember that part of what we are about is caring about more than the person right next to us, but the folks across the way.
grateful discipline preparation
Be more than ready. Be present in your discipline. Remember your gift. Be grateful for your gift and treat it like a gift. Cherish it, take care of it, and pass it on.
medication underrated
Friendship is a wildly underrated medication.
path environment feels
I feel like my work has been my path to freedom from having grown up in a segregated environment.