QuoteCivil Rights

"But I had a hard time with protest because I had never…" — Abbey Lincoln

c. 1960(Approximate date)· Abbey Lincoln (speaker)

“But I had a hard time with protest because I had never screamed before in my life. I never heard my mother scream or any of my sisters scream. I finally learned to scream and not hurt my voice.”
Speaker
Abbey Lincoln
Occasion
On the "Protest" vocal of We Insist! Freedom Now Suite (1960); recounted in an NEA "Jazz Moments" feature

Abbey Lincoln on performing the wordless "Protest" section of We Insist! — a vocalization of Black rage she had to learn to voice.

Sources & citations

  1. 1.arts.govwebsite
"But I had a hard time with protest because I had never…" — Abbey Lincoln · We've Been Protesting