#hi

Any musical person who has never heard a Negro congregation under the spell of religious fervor sing these old songs has missed one of the most thrilling emotions which the human heart may experience. ↗

— James Weldon Johnson

#congregation #emotions #experience #fervor #heard

No member of our generation who wasn't a Communist or a dropout in the thirties is worth a damn. ↗

— Lyndon B. Johnson

#damn #generation #member #our #our generation

I believe it to be a fact that the colored people of this country know and understand the white people better than the white people know and understand them. ↗

— James Weldon Johnson

#better #colored #country #fact #i

It is a struggle; for though the black man fights passively, he nevertheless fights; and his passive resistance is more effective at present than active resistance could possibly be. He bears the fury of the storm as does the willow tree. ↗

— James Weldon Johnson

#bears #black #could #does #effective

My appearance was always good and my ability to play on the piano, especially ragtime, which was then at the height of its vogue, made me a welcome guest. ↗

— James Weldon Johnson

#always #appearance #especially #good #guest

Northern white people love the Negro in a sort of abstract way, as a race; through a sense of justice, charity, and philanthropy, they will liberally assist in his elevation. ↗

— James Weldon Johnson

#assist #charity #elevation #his #justice

The battle was first waged over the right of the Negro to be classed as a human being with a soul; later, as to whether he had sufficient intellect to master even the rudiments of learning; and today it is being fought out over his social recognition. ↗

— James Weldon Johnson

#being #classed #even #first #fought

The peculiar fascination which the South held over my imagination and my limited capital decided me in favor of Atlanta University; so about the last of September I bade farewell to the friends and scenes of my boyhood and boarded a train for the South. ↗

— James Weldon Johnson

#atlanta #boyhood #capital #decided #farewell

There are a great many colored people who are ashamed of the cake-walk, but I think they ought to be proud of it. ↗

— James Weldon Johnson

#colored #great #i #i think #many

Through my music teaching and my not absolutely irregular attendance at church, I became acquainted with the best class of colored people in Jacksonville. ↗

— James Weldon Johnson

#acquainted #attendance #became #best #church