A good deed here, a good deed there, a good thought here, a good comment there, all added up to my career in one way or another.
Almost all the job opportunities were reflective of the stereotypical perception of blacks that had infected the whole consciousness of the country.
As a man, I've been representative of the values I hold dear. And the values I hold dear are carryovers from the lives of my parents.
But I always had the ability to say no. That's how I called my own shots.
But my dad also was a remarkable man, a good person, a principled individual, a man of integrity.
History passes the final judgment.
I come from a great family. I've seen family life and I know how wonderful, how nurturing, and how wonderful it can be.
I decided in my life that I would do nothing that did not reflect positively on my father's life.
I don't want to be an actor, but I've got to become one to go back there and show him that I could be more than a dishwasher.
I had chosen to use my work as a reflection of my values.
I had learned something of Miami from people who had visited there, so I knew what to expect.
I learned quite quickly that there were places I couldn't go, that I would be questioned if I wandered into various neighborhoods.
I never had an occasion to question color, therefore, I only saw myself as what I was... a human being.
I wanted to explore the values that are at work, underpinning my life.
I wanted to look at them because I feel, internally, that I am an ordinary person who has had an extraordinary life.
I was not the kind of a principal player that was so in demand that eight or 10 or 12 scripts came per month.
I was the only Black person on the set. It was unusual for me to be in a circumstance in which every move I made was tantamount to representation of 18 million people.
I'll always be chasing you... Glory.
I've had it all my life and when it can time for me to start a family, I was quite anxious to do so.
If you apply reason and logic to this career of mine, you're not going to get very far. You simply won't.
In my case, the body of work stands for itself... I think my work has been representative of me as a man.
Jackie Robinson is a true legend.
Mine was an easy ride compared to Jackie Robinson's.
My autobiography was simply the story of my life.
My father was a poor man, very poor in a British colonial possession where class and race were very important.
Since I couldn't actuate the things that I wanted to do, the only weapon I had was to say no.
So I had to be careful. I recognized the responsibility that, whether I liked it or not, I had to accept whatever the obligation was. That was to behave in a manner, to carry myself in such a professional way, as if there ever is a reflection, it's a positive one.
So I'm OK with myself, with history, my work, who I am and who I was.
So it's been kind of a long road, but it was a good journey altogether.
So much of life, it seems to me, is determined by pure randomness.
The journey has been incredible from its beginning.
The next morning we came into the port at Miami. I saw the buildings. For me they were tall, tall buildings; there was nothing like them in Nassau.
There is not racial or ethnic domination of hopelessness. It's everywhere.
There was segregation, yes, but infinitely less than was sanctioned by law. I could go in any store and buy a pair of shoes.
This book is about how that life connects to the universe. How alike are we. What binds us spiritually - the universe and me.
To be compared to Jackie Robinson is an enormous compliment, but I don't think it's necessarily deserved.
To simply wake up every morning a better person than when I went to bed.
We all suffer from the preoccupation that there exists... in the loved one, perfection.
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