---
title: "5 Civil rights movement Quotes By Bernice Johnson Reagon"
description: "5 Civil rights movement quotes by Bernice Johnson Reagon. Plus more from Bernice Johnson Reagon and more Civil rights movement sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a93/bernice-johnson-reagon-17438_changed_i-think-the-civil-rights-movement-change_2215788.png"
---

> [I think the Civil Rights Movement changed that trajectory for me. The first thing I did was leave school. I was suspended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/i-think-the-civil-rights-movement-changed-that-trajectory-for-me-the/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a93/bernice-johnson-reagon-17438_changed_i-think-the-civil-rights-movement-change_2215788.png)

> [The Civil Rights Movement also reaffirmed me as a singer. It taught me that singing was not entertainment, it was something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/the-civil-rights-movement-also-reaffirmed-me-as-a-singer-it-taught-me/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/bernice-johnson-reagon-17438_civil-rights_the-civil-rights-movement-also-reaffirme_2345382.png)

> [At the same time all this was happening, there was a folk song revival movement goingon, so the commercial music industry was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/at-the-same-time-all-this-was-happening-there-was-a-folk-song-revival/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a50/bernice-johnson-reagon-17438_changed_at-the-same-time-all-this-was-happening_2432963.png)

> [I came out of the Civil Rights Movement, and I had a different kind of focus than most people who have just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/i-came-out-of-the-civil-rights-movement-and-i-had-a-different-kind-of/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b39/bernice-johnson-reagon-17438_academic_i-came-out-of-the-civil-rights-movement_2713697.png)

> [When I started graduate school I was interested in the culture of the Civil Rights Movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/when-i-started-graduate-school-i-was-interested-in-the-culture-of-the/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/216/bernice-johnson-reagon-17438_civil-rights_when-i-started-graduate-school-i-was-int_3021358.png)

## Other authors on Civil rights movement

- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b017/author-michelle-alexander-67636.jpg) Michelle Alexander 12 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights-movement/michelle-alexander/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-john-lewis-51804.jpg) John Lewis 11 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights-movement/john-lewis/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b007/author-danny-glover-26713.jpg) Danny Glover 9 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights-movement/danny-glover/)
- [Martin Luther King Jr 6 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights-movement/martin-luther-king-jr-2/)
- [Anthea Butler 6 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights-movement/anthea-butler/)
- [Martin Luther King, Jr 5 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights-movement/martin-luther-king-jr/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b011/author-henry-louis-gates-41603.jpg) Henry Louis Gates 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights-movement/henry-louis-gates/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b005/author-bill-ayers-17832.jpg) Bill Ayers 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights-movement/bill-ayers/)

## More by Bernice Johnson Reagon

> [Mothering/nurturing is a vital force and process establishing relationships throughout the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/mothering-nurturing-is-a-vital-force-and-process-establishing/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

> [In fact when Sweet Honey was ten years old it was too big for me to run, and I knew it, but I ran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/in-fact-when-sweet-honey-was-ten-years-old-it-was-too-big-for-me-to/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

> [It makes sense that whatever the topic is, it's more compelling if you can provide the audience with a range of perspectives, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/it-makes-sense-that-whatever-the-topic-is-it-s-more-compelling-if-you/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

> [There is nowhere you can go and only be with people who are like you. Give it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/there-is-nowhere-you-can-go-and-only-be-with-people-who-are-like-you/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

> [If, in moving through your life, you find yourself lost, go back to the last place where you knew who you were, and what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/if-in-moving-through-your-life-you-find-yourself-lost-go-back-to-the/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

> [“Life's challenges aren't suppose to paralyze you, they're suppose to help you discover who you are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/life-s-challenges-aren-t-suppose-to-paralyze-you-they-re-suppose-to/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

> [If every moment is sacred, and If you are amazed and in awe most of the time, when you find yourself breathing and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/if-every-moment-is-sacred-and-if-you-are-amazed-and-in-awe-most-of/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

> [Welcome to prekindergarten! You will not die if you discover that there are more lines out there than just your own. In fact, you'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/welcome-to-prekindergarten-you-will-not-die-if-you-discover-that/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

> [I organized Sweet Honey In The Rock in 1973. The music was sanity and balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/i-organized-sweet-honey-in-the-rock-in-1973-the-music-was-sanity-and/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

> [I just don't think one person has that much to contribute to any subject](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/i-just-don-t-think-one-person-has-that-much-to-contribute-to-any/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

> [I started graduate school in 1971, I started working at the Smithsonian in the festival in 1972. I went full-time at the Smithsonian in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/i-started-graduate-school-in-1971-i-started-working-at-the/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

> [And I used to think that proof that I had religion was whether I knew how to sing all of the songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/and-i-used-to-think-that-proof-that-i-had-religion-was-whether-i-knew/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

> [Most people come out of their Ph.D. experience trying to prove themselves, trying to get ahead, trying to get published. You're scared everybody else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/most-people-come-out-of-their-ph-d-experience-trying-to-prove/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

> [The first job I had with the Smithsonian was as a field researcher among African American communities in Southwest Louisiana and Arkansas for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/the-first-job-i-had-with-the-smithsonian-was-as-a-field-researcher/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

> [Personally I discovered that you could go through the academy as a young scholar, come out, and almost immediately have an impact on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/personally-i-discovered-that-you-could-go-through-the-academy-as-a/)

[Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/)

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