I have to have a seat at the table. I have to have a say on how we, as African-Americans, are produced and depicted around the world. Along the way, I’ll be very fair to white people. Byron Allen Read Quote
When ‘Real People’ aired in 1979, we did OK in Los Angeles and New York. What kept that show from being canceled were the ratings from the middle of the country, and that’s what kept us in the top five. I learned then from co-hosting that it was important to focus on the country between Los Angeles and New York. Byron Allen Read Quote
Black America now has the power to achieve economic inclusion, which we rightfully deserve because we built this country. This is a conversation that white America doesn’t really want to have. Byron Allen Read Quote
What we have to do is get the corporations to understand you must include African-American-owned media. Byron Allen Read Quote
Al Sharpton is not important. He’s nothing more than a black pawn in a very sophisticated white economic chess game. Byron Allen Read Quote
At the very least, you must make the Internet free in areas that are poverty-stricken. Without the Internet and access to information, poverty-stricken households will never catch up to households above the poverty line – throwing the African-American community deeper into the stone ages. Byron Allen Read Quote
We need one America – one that includes housing, education, jobs, access to capital, and economic inclusion for every American. This will create a stronger America. Byron Allen Read Quote
I personally knew and worked with Sammy Davis, Jr. Sammy hired me to open for him at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas when I was a 19-year-old standup comedian, and that’s where my fascination with his incredible story began. Byron Allen Read Quote
African-Americans don’t need handouts and donations; we can hire ourselves if white corporate America does business with us in a fair and equitable way. Byron Allen Read Quote
I’m listening to the audience. Too many people in Hollywood make what they want to see and not what we want to see. I’m about us. Not about me. Byron Allen Read Quote
