Moms Mabley

"They say you shouldn't say nothin' about the dead unless it's good. He's dead. Good!"

"Ain’t nothing an old man can do for me but bring me a message from a young one."

"The tap dancers and the be-bop musicians influenced the pitch and pace of my work. And along with the Chitlin' Circuit women, including women like Jackie "Moms" Mabley, they made me very curious about the national and international black community. You see, these were women who traveled a lot, and they would bring back information from all over the country and all over the world."