Best Dick Gregory Quotes
Dick Gregory Quotes About Government, Politics, Race, Awareness, Life & Success! A pioneering comedian and civil rights activist, Dick Gregory used deep, nuanced comedy in the volatile 1960s to tackle the race. The Missouri native was born on October 12, 1932. With poor origins, Gregory used his remarkable running abilities at Sumner High School to get a track scholarship to Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Gregory achieved half-mile and mile records as a runner at Southern Illinois University Carbondale while in school.
Gregory’s undergraduate degree was put on hold when he was enlisted into the US Army. After serving in the military, Gregory began his career as a stand-up comedian by participating in and winning various Army talent events. Hugh Hefner, the owner of Adult Magazine, appointed Gregory in 1961 to work at the Chicago Playboy Club. Gregory pleased Hefner with his ability to perform well in front of a white crowd. Gregory was soon recognized as a national hero, and in 1964 he published an autobiography called Nigger that sold seven million copies.
Gregory got more active in the Civil Rights Movement and spoke out against the Vietnam War and government policies in the mid-1960s. In 1967, he wanted to run opposite Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago. In 1968, Gregory stood for President of the United States as a start writing candidate for the Freedom and Peace Party, but he lost. For most of the 1980s, Gregory was best recognized as a prominent advocate for the health food sector.
By his status as an authority on nutrition, Gregory was widely considered an expert in this field. Gregory was ranked number 81 on Comedy Central’s list of 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time in 2004. Gregory, On August 19, 2017, passed away.
Best Dick Gregory Quotes
1. “You know, I always say white is not a color, white is an attitude, and if you haven’t got trillions of dollars in the bank that you don’t need, you can’t be white.” ― Dick Gregory
2. “I never believed in Santa Claus because I knew no white dude would come into my neighborhood after dark.” ― Dick Gregory
3. “We used to root for the Indians against the cavalry because we didn’t think it was fair in the history books that when the cavalry won it was a great victory, and when the Indians won it was a massacre.” ― Dick Gregory
4. “You know why Madison Avenue advertising has never done well in Harlem? We’re the only ones who know what it means to be Brand X.” ― Dick Gregory
5. “I waited at the counter of a white restaurant for eleven years. When they finally integrated, they didn’t have what I wanted.” ― Dick Gregory
6. “I am really enjoying the new Martin Luther King Jr stamp – just think about all those white bigots, licking the backside of a black man.” ― Dick Gregory
7. “If it wasn’t for Abe Lincoln, I’d still be on the open market.” ― Dick Gregory
8. “When I was a boy, I was taught never to use insulting expressions like, ‘I’ve been gypped,’ or, ‘He welshed on the deal.’” ― Dick Gregory
9. “When I go through the airport and see white women walking through the airport barefooted, like athlete’s feet don’t exist, there’s something wrong.” ― Dick Gregory
10. “I used to get letters saying, ‘I didn’t know black children and white children were the same.’” ― Dick Gregory
11. “I never thought I’d see the day that I would see white folks as frightened, or more so than black folks was during the civil rights movement when we were in Mississippi.” ― Dick Gregory
12. “Being white is a job in America. You take that away, you better get the soldiers out.” ― Dick Gregory
13. “Just being a Negro doesn’t qualify you to understand the race situation any more than being sick makes you an expert on medicine.” ― Dick Gregory
14. “Last time I was down South I walked into this restaurant, and this white waitress came up to me and said: ‘We don’t serve colored people here.’ “I said: ‘that’s all right, I don’t eat colored people. Bring me a whole fried chicken.” ― Dick Gregory
15. “Political promises are much like marriage vows. They are made at the beginning of the relationship between candidate and voter, but are quickly forgotten.” ― Dick Gregory
16. “When I lost my rifle, the Army charged me 85 dollars. That is why in the Navy the Captain goes down with the ship.” ― Dick Gregory
17. “In most places in the country, voting is looked upon as a right and a duty, but in Chicago, it’s a sport.” ― Dick Gregory
18. “If they took all the drugs, nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine off the market for six days, they’d have to bring out the tanks to control you.” ― Dick Gregory
19. “In America, with all of its evils and faults, you can still reach through the forest and see the sun. But we don’t know yet whether that sun is rising or setting for our country.” ― Dick Gregory
20. “Hell hath no fury like a liberal scorned.” ― Dick Gregory
21. “Now here’s what I’m saying: I’ve always believed that every other month we hear about compromisation of bank records, I think that’s the CIA and the FBI. Now let me tell you why I’m saying this. I don’t believe no insignificant pip-squeak is going to be able to pull this off month after month and we can’t find out what’s going on.” ― Dick Gregory
22. “I wouldn’t mind paying taxes – if I knew they were going to a friendly country.” ― Dick Gregory
23. “And we love to dance, especially that new one called the Civil War Twist. The Northern part of you stands still while the Southern part tries to secede.” ― Dick Gregory
24. “There is a limit on how much information you can keep bottled up.” ― Dick Gregory
25. “I tell people, ‘If you want to send a message to the White House, call my house.’” ― Dick Gregory
