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.
In the depths of every heart there is a tomb and a dungeon, though the lights, the music, and the revelry above may cause us to forget their existence.
I know I was born and I know that I'll die... _x000D_ The in between is mine._x000D_ I Am Mine
I have never seen a greater monster or miracle in the world than myself.
You don't have to teach people how to be human. You have to teach them how to stop being inhuman.
The day before is what we bring to the day we're actually living through, life is a matter of carrying along all those days-before just as someone might carry stones, and when we can no longer cope with the load, the work is done, the last day is the only one that is not the day before another day.
Increasingly, corporate nationality is whatever a corporation decides it is.
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