51+ Great Dick Gregory Quotes From Comedy To Civil Rights

Dick Gregory was a true polymath, known in the United States, for being a comedian and author, and for his activism.

Dick Gregory gained his fame in the USA thanks to his talent and skills as a comedian. However, his work was about more than just comedy as his witty acts and the books that he authored dealt with serious issues like racism and bigotry in the USA.

As well as being known for his talents as a comedian and author, throughout his life, he was a well-known advocate of the feminist movement. He also protested against the Vietnam War and was a major Civil Rights activist. This article has some of the best Dick Gregory quotes which will reveal the kind of man he was.

If you liked this article about great Dick Gregory quotes, you can check out these Dave Chappelle quotes and Louis CK quotes too.

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Dick Gregory Quotes On Racism

Dick Gregory was an American comedian and author who wrote extensively about racial discrimination. This article includes some important Dick Gregory quotes on racial injustice and some Dick Gregory white supremacy quotes that are cutting and caustic.

As an American author and comedian, he would often describe his experiences as a Black man in the USA in his comedy, which made his quotes more memorable. This list includes many important Dick Gregory quotes on white supremacy and race that deal with the sensitive issue.

1. "It was an unwritten law that black comics were not permitted to work white nightclubs."

- Dick Gregory.

2. "... when I got involved in the Civil Rights movement... I made a deal with my wife that I would never make a decision based on how will this affect my career."

- Dick Gregory.

3. "If it wasn't for Abe Lincoln, I'd still be on the open market."

- Dick Gregory.

4. "I never believed in Santa Claus because I knew no white dude would come into my neighborhood after dark."

- Dick Gregory.

5. "America will tolerate the taking of a human life without giving it a second thought."

- Dick Gregory.

6. "Where else in the world but America, could I have lived in the worst neighborhoods, attended the worst schools, rode in the back of the bus, and get paid $5,000 a week just for talking about it?"

- Dick Gregory.

7. "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.

8. "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.

9. "I'm non-violent, but I'm damned if I’ll preach non-violence to a man whose five-year-old daughter has got her head busted open by a brick."

- Dick Gregory.

10. "Do you realize that when you identify with anything other than yourself, first as an individual, you have a cheap way out a lot of your own shortcomings?"

― Dick Gregory.

11. "You know the definition of a Southern moderate? That’s a cat that’ll lynch you from a low tree."

- Dick Gregory.

12. "I hope that America is willing to take this shoe of racism off and deal with racism and deal with sexism."

- Dick Gregory.

13. "I am so sick and tired of seeing a black person shot in the back, shot dead, followed by people saying, 'Not all cops are bad.'"

- Dick Gregory.

14. "They gave me the key to the city... and then they changed all the locks."

- Dick Gregory.

15. "Being white is a job in America. You take that away, you better get the soldiers out."

- Dick Gregory.

Dick Gregory Funny Quotes

Dick Gregory quotes are immensely funny because he was an amazing comedian. Even as an author, his quotes could make everyone laugh. Here are some of Dick Gregory's comical quotes.

16. “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.

17. "I know the South very well. I spent 20 years there one night."

- Dick Gregory.

18. "Here's how you can tell when you're getting old. When someone compliments those beautiful alligator shoes you're wearing and you're barefooted."

- Dick Gregory.

19. "The only good thing about the good old days is they're gone."

- Dick Gregory.

20. "... it’s easier to gate-crash a party in heaven than it is to get into the White House."

- Dick Gregory.

21. "When you have a good mother and no father, God kind of sits in. It's not enough, but it helps."

- Dick Gregory.

22. "I heard we’ve got lots of black astronauts. Saving them for the first spaceflight to the sun."

- Dick Gregory.

23. "When you’ve got something really good, you don’t have to force it on people. They will steal it!"

- Dick Gregory.

24. "Humor can no more find the solution to race problems than it can cure cancer..."

- Dick Gregory.

25. "President Khrushchev doesn't really hate us... His interpreter does."

- Dick Gregory.

26. "Hell hath no fury like a liberal scorned."

- Dick Gregory.

27. "I have no regrets."

- Dick Gregory.

28. "When I was a kid, you dropped something off the table, it never reached the floor."

- Dick Gregory.

Famous Quotes By Dick Gregory

Dick Gregory's quotes prove how he was completely committed to equality. Read some more of his well-known quotes here.

29. "Once I realized the value of making people laugh, I got very good at it. Fast."

- Dick Gregory.

30. "I was more interested in how my career could help the movement."

- Dick Gregory.

31. "Violence causes the same pain, the same spilling of blood, the same stench of death, the same arrogant, cruel and vicious taking of life."

- Dick Gregory.

32. "There's a God force inside of you that gives you a will to live."

- Dick Gregory.

33. "Poor is a state of mind you never grow out of, but being broke is just a temporary condition."

- Dick Gregory.

34. "I am a soldier. And my life has been a soldier’s life."

- Dick Gregory.

35. "My belief is, you know, certain things have to be explained that's never been explained."

- Dick Gregory.

36. "Because I'm a Civil Rights activist, I am also an animal rights activist. Animals and humans suffer and die alike."

- Dick Gregory.

37. "If you take 12 waters from the coconut - not the ones you buy in the store, although that's good - the fresh coconuts... if you take 12 of those within 24 hours, your blood will go back to the way it was when you were born."

- Dick Gregory.

38. "That's all comedy is, really: putting a rhythm to the talk you hear on the street."

- Dick Gregory.

39. "Coconut milk is the only thing on this planet that comes identically to mother's milk."

- Dick Gregory.

40. "The FBI and the CIA are probably the two most evil entities that ever existed in the history of the planet."

- Dick Gregory.

41. "I'm not a comic. I'm a humorist."

- Dick Gregory.

42. "Every holiday on the calendar, I check in a hotel and fast - I don't eat, I don't drink, I don't talk."

- Dick Gregory.

43. "They were going to laugh anyway, but if I made the jokes they’d laugh with me instead of at me..."

- Dick Gregory

44. Love is very dangerous if you just have love and don't have the ability to be lovable."

- Dick Gregory.

45. "... there is something else I wish I had done. You know what it is?... More."

- Dick Gregory.

46. "After a while... I got a reputation as a funny man. And then I started to turn the jokes on them."

- Dick Gregory.

Popular Book Quotes From Dick Gregory

Many Dick Gregory quotes have been published in his books. Read some of the best Dick Gregory quotes from the iconic American author and comedian here.

47. "I never learned hate at home or shame. I had to go to school for that."

- Dick Gregory, 'Shame'.

48. "Now I'm getting $5,000 a week — for saying the same things out loud I used to say under my breath."

― Dick Gregory, 'From The Back Of The Bus'.

49. "The teacher thought I was stupid... Teachers were never interested in finding out that you couldn't concentrate because you were hungry..."

- Dick Gregory, 'Shame'.

50. "Pregnant people get strange tastes. I was pregnant with poverty."

- Dick Gregory, 'Shame'.

51. "The teacher thought I was a troublemaker. All she saw from the front of the room was a little black boy who squirmed in his idiot's seat..."

- Dick Gregory, 'Shame'.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Dick Gregory quotes, then why not take a look at these comedian quotes or Chris Farley quotes too?

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