98 Quotes by Margo Jefferson

White people wanted to be white just as much as we did. They worked just as hard at it. They failed more often. But they could pass, so no one objected.

Depression is so treacherous – it can be so alluring as well as punishing. After all, it’s yours and yours alone – no one else can interfere with it.

Creativity isn’t far away, or outside of you. It’s an inner movement, a heart-shift, a joy making its way out of your throat or hands or feet. So go for it. No one’s watching. The payoff is magnificent.

For better or worse, there is not a situation in one’s daily life that does not have feminist subtext, superstructure, implications and one is constantly aware of it, even when you want to rest it stands up and hits you in the face.

The theater let me dramatize inner struggles, the push-pull between the inner life and the world, the various selves I presented according to what each world required. And it let me use my body.

So I grew. And as I grew I learned that in the world beyond family and family friends, your mistakes – bad manners, poor taste, an excess of high spirits – could put you, your parents, and your people at risk.

Witty, brooding, contemplative, explosive: take your pick.

I hate when I’m supposed to be having fun and Race singles me out for special chores and duties.

So I won’t trap myself into quantifying which matters more, race, or gender, or class. Race, gender, and class are basic elements of one’s living. Basic as utensils and clothing; always in use; always needing repairs and updates. Basic as body and breath, justice and reason, passion and imagination. So the question isn’t “Which matters most?,” it’s “How does each matter?” Gender, race, class; class, race, gender – your three in one and one in three.