I’d rather be a lamppost in Harlem than the mayor of any town in Georgia.
The riot isn't seen in the movie, but it is alluded to. He has this one speech that gives a great sense of texture and paints a picture of what was happening in Harlem then.
The world has white people and black people in it. Even in Harlem.
'Luke Cage' is about a reluctant superhero who lives in the shadows in Harlem. He has to decide if he's going to step up and fight for the heart of the city and defend the people against Cornell 'Cottonmouth' Stokes, my character, who kinda wants to keep everything in order and intact. I'm the criminal element in the story.
Just growing up in Harlem, it didn't matter what you had to do to get fresh - you would do it.
During all the years I entertained at the Baby Grand night club in Harlem, 90 percent of the audience was white. But when I tried to break Into television, I was told that white folks wouldn't understand what I was talking about.
I'm from Harlem, born and raised there.
I grew up in Harlem in New York, very rough, urban environment, and so what I found is that, if I can have kids travel to different places, countries, areas, it can expand their minds.
You grow up in America and you're told from day one, 'This is the land of opportunity.' That everybody has an equal chance to make it in this country. And then you look at places like Harlem, and you say, 'That is absolutely a lie.'
I worked at an old folks' home once in Harlem, and I was an activities volunteer. I used to do all these plays with the old people. I did 'The Wizard of Oz;' it was adapted. There was a guy there who played the harmonica, so we had an overture, and The Wizard was 96.
A lot of creativity coming from the east side of Harlem. It really built my character and who I am.
I don't have to really be in the 60s. Every time I hail a cab in New York, and they pass me by and pick up the white person, then I get a dose of it. Or when they don't want to take you to Harlem. I grew up with that.
My family were Conservative Jews. My parents were both born in this country, but my father grew up on the Lower East Side, and my mother was born and raised in Harlem when there was a large Jewish 'colony' there. Eventually, they moved to Jersey City to get away from New York.
At first, Hendrix went and became a superstar in London, but if he walked past the Apollo in Harlem, no one would know who he was. I'm the hip-hop version of him.
This nation openly endorses, tolerates and legalizes the very abuses against which she originally waged a bloody revolution.
Writing of the Harlem riots of the day:
I love Harlem, it's like a second home to me.
I had a little portable typewriter. I call it my Harlem Literary Fellowship.
And Alpo ordered guys to slaughter guys, and the whole Harlem was in tears when Rich Porter died.
When we were at the Apollo, Holiday was a block away. I asked her for her autograph.
Harlem is not a playground for rich bankers and consultants. It's got students of all colors. It's got old people who keep history and tell tall tales.
The way to reduce pollution in Detroit is to make automobile company executives drive in non-air-conditioned cars during summer rush hours. The way to get business to join the war on poverty is to make corporate executives drive through Harlem every day instead of going home on air-conditioned trains drinking martinis.
I'm the only tenured black faculty in the sciences at Columbia, in the middle of Harlem.
People don't really know, but I went to Dance Theatre of Harlem in New York.
From 143rd Street in Harlem to the center court at Wimbledon is about as far as one can travel.
When we did Diplomats music, it was all genuine, and I think that's why people love it so much, because they seen a group of kids from Harlem that had almost nothing come up to be platinum-selling artists, and people rode that wave with us.
