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.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the complexities of acceptance based on race and appearance rather than genuine merit.
Lena Horne's quote addresses the uncomfortable reality of racial dynamics, illustrating how acceptance can sometimes be superficial, rooted in societal perceptions rather than true appreciation of an individual's talents and contributions. It highlights the notion that being accepted for one's appearance, particularly in a racially stratified context, can lead to a hollow sense of validation, as it does not reflect a person's worth or efforts.
In practice
In a discussion on racial identity and social acceptance during a seminar.
It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it. Carry it by the comfortable handles of gratitude for what's positive and that it is not worse, rather than the uncomfortable edges of bitterness for the negatives and that it is not better.
I'm not alone, I'm free. I no longer have to be a credit, I don't have to be a symbol to anybody; I don't have to be a first to anybody.
I'm still learning, you know. At 80, I feel there is a lot I don't know.
My identity is very clear to me now, I am a black woman.
In my early days I was a sepia Hedy Lamarr. Now I'm black and a woman, singing my own way.
We have been poisoned by fairy tales.
Five enemies of peace inhabit with us - avarice, ambition, envy, anger, and pride; if these were to be banished, we should infallibly enjoy perpetual peace.
Home is the center of life. It's the wellspring of personhood. It's where we say we're ourselves.
In my state of spiritual abstraction, I no longer belong to myself and to my eyesight. I am nothing more than a single narrow gasping lung, floating over the mists and summits.
Given the infinite number of coincidences that could happen, very few ever actually do. The universe exists in a coincidence-hating state of anti-fluke.
To become a philosopher, start by walking very slowly.
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