Victoria Christopher Murray > Quotes

“Sometimes a man doesn't want to be strong. Sometimes a man just wants to be human.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Never Say Never

“We laugh, but the merriment stops when Will says, “Blackface is not gone! If the words are written by a white man, then it doesn’t matter if it’s a colored man on that stage or a white man in blackface. The words are still written by men who’ve never lived a moment without privilege, telling stories of men who cannot even purchase access to privilege.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Harlem Rhapsody

“White folks still have us bound. The chains that shackled us were beyond physical.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Harlem Rhapsody

“I’m so grateful to her for encouraging me to read. The characters inside books became my friends. I loved every story, even the tragic ones. Because even in tragedy, the words can make a pitiable life beyond beautiful.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Harlem Rhapsody

“It’s when people are tired that they’re the most vulnerable, most open to temptation.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Touched by an Angel

“As long as it’s all in line with His will,” he said, sounding way more like a preacher than a doctor. “But many times, people ask for something, not because they have a real desire for it, but because they’re asking out of emotions. Emotions should never be the drive behind anyone’s requests because emotions can change in an…” He paused and snapped his finger. “In an instant.” Before I could ask him what he meant, he said, “Good night, Mrs. Hudson. Sweet dreams.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Touched by an Angel

“Will glances around the table. “I think everyone knows I withdrew from the Socialist Party to support Wilson, and it was with the vote of colored men who followed me that he won.” There is a sigh in his tone when he continues, “But his betrayal…he says he isn’t a racist, but he awakened every racist in this country. Supporting him was the greatest political mistake I’ve made.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Harlem Rhapsody

“I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset. I’ve known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Harlem Rhapsody

“I want whatever God has for me!”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, If Only For One Night

“Another time, a different place. Je t'aime pour toujours.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Harlem Rhapsody

“Dr. Du Bois theorizes that while white folks can simply be American, Negroes cannot. Because of the way America treats its Negro citizens, we must live separate as Negroes first, and then as Americans. It is a dual existence. And because the two identities cannot coalesce, we are left to live two lives, have two minds of thought and…two souls.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Harlem Rhapsody

“If we truly understood God’s plan for the union between a man and a woman, we’d fight harder. People give up on the husband or wife God has chosen for them too easily. Anyone can walk away, the courage comes in staying and fighting. And if God is in the mix, staying is worth it. Like I said, we just have to understand marriage.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Temptation: The Aftermath

“Who is the author of such brilliance? First, I notice the title: “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” Then, the name of the poet: Langston”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Harlem Rhapsody

“They have no idea the fierceness that lurks within your petite frame.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, The Personal Librarian

“Be grateful for the moment in Time.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, If Only For One Night

“God has great plans for you. But He cannot give you greater than what you desire for yourself.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Harlem Rhapsody

“His bondage came in a bottle”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Harlem Rhapsody

“He is in control, but He will give us what we ask for. If all of this was God’s will, then we wouldn’t have to pray for His will to be done.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Temptation: The Aftermath

“Will's voice draws me back. 'I'm excited for Miss Fauset to be with us at this propitious time, Mrs. Fauset. The war is over, the world is changing, and we not only need to be part of that change, but must also facilitate that change. This is the time for the new Negro, and literature must play its role. At its best, literature is a useful form of propaganda.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Harlem Rhapsody

“You’re a colored woman who lacks any of the advantages this country treasures. You are neither white nor a man, and so you’ll be judged harshly and unfairly, even as you perform well. However, you will be judged doubly, and the consequences will be severe if you falter.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Harlem Rhapsody

“This is the gift of Harlem—the dress, the music, the language. It isn’t possible to live here and not begin to breathe and bleed this place.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Harlem Rhapsody

“Then others, like Mary McLeod Bethune, the educator who, twenty years ago, started a school for girls that continues to thrive.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Harlem Rhapsody

“believe colored and white women will rise up and stand in solidarity on this.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Harlem Rhapsody

“You're a colored woman who lacks any of the advantages this country treasures. You are neither white nor a man, and so you'll be judged harshly and unfairly, even as you perform well. However, you will be judged doubly, and the consequences will be severe if you falter. Not just professionally. you'll be judged by the company you keep.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Harlem Rhapsody

“I believed in our vows. I just prayed that one day, we could get back to the ‘for better ’ part because we were drowning in all of this for worse.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, If Only For One Night

“father nodded. “Well, getting to know each other means getting to know everything. Family structure, how one was raised—those are important factors.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Wrath

“I’m wearing a suit! I wonder if that disparaging comment is meant as an affront to me as a woman or a Negro. But I answer my own thoughts. My race enters the room before I do.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Harlem Rhapsody

“She’d had to endure the humiliation of my father’s infidelity for so long,”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Wrath

“So there's nothing inside of me, as a black man in this country, that will let me wait.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray

“Psalms 18:30 and Psalms 34:19.”
― Victoria Christopher Murray, Joy