Hazel Scott

“Why would I, a Negro, buck the system? Why would I be so boring?”

“I've been brash all my life, and it's gotten me into a lot of trouble. But it's also gotten me a lot of respect.”

“You think I'm going to be a little girl who's going to be scared? I'm not scared of anybody.”

“Darling, I've been fighting white people since I was three years old.”

“Any artist who claims to be an artist and doesn’t speak out against what is happening is not an artist.”

“No grinning, no tommin' for me.”

“Black audiences are my first and my last. If I don't have them, I don't have anybody.”

“I am not a politician, but I am a human being.”

“I'm a pianist, not a clown.”