After years in white theaters I dreaded working in colored houses. The noise, the stomping, whistling, and cheering that hadn't annoyed me when I was young was now something I dreaded.

Ethel Waters

Ethel Waters

After Annoyed Cheering Colored Dreaded Houses Me Noise Now Something Theaters Whistling White Working Years Young

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I want affection and tenderness desperately, but there's something in me that prevents me from handing it out.

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The white audiences thought I was white, my features being what they are, and at every performance I'd have to take off my gloves to prove I was a spade.

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