In My Early Days I Was A

I Really Do Hate To Sing.

You Have To Be Taught To Be Second Class; You're Not Born That Way.

I Learned From Ethel Waters, Duke Ellington, Adelaide Hall, The Nicholas Brothers, The Whole Thing, The Whole Schmear. [the Cotton Club] Was A Great Place Because It Hired Us, For One Thing, At A Time When It Was Really Rough [for Black Performers].

I Was Unique In That I Was A Kind Of Black That White People Could Accept. I Was Their Daydream. I Had The Worst Kind Of Acceptance Because It Was Never For How Great I Was Or What I Contributed. It Was Because Of The Way I Looked.

You Wouldn't Be Allowed To Get On A Particular Bus, But You'd Be Asked To Sign Your Autograph.