"They were the first couple of the civil rights movement and seemed to be everywhere during the '60s...Two theater rats. Two leftists...Their cackles have a way of melting into one another..." Wil Haygood
He was physically big, well-read and confident...He had already told me he was a genius.
Ruby once gave Ossie an inscribed picture of herself. Dear Ossie,When I think of you, let there be silence and no writing at all. Ruby. He smiled the country smile when she handed it to him.
"They set a high standard for all of us -- as actors and individuals. What unifies them is their devotion to the struggle" New York theatrical director Billie Allen
Ruby had to remind him, hands on hips, strong words in the kitchen -- especially after the three children arrived -- that she had gifts, skills, and did not want to abandon her career while he was chasing his own. "We tried every permutation of marriage -- and it worked out" Ossie Davis
We were the 'be there' people as Ruby says regarding the Civil Rights movement. They were wherever the movement happened to be...They'd all be there, somewhere, anywhere, some fight, some protest. "They have a political resonance not all artists have" historian Taylor Branch
For a period, they were blacklisted. They survived McCarthyism, though FBI agents trailed them around; they suffered pain of being out of work, and remained determined to keep raising money for families of lynch victims. "We were good at fundraising" Ossie Davis
Ruby and Ossie's politics could be called radical by some standards, constantly challenging the status quo, as they planted their feet on many and occasion to the left of the Democratic Party. Like Robeson, one of their heroes, their astonishing artistic credentials flowed into their political activities.
Turning to Ruby, "It's been a wonderful life -- so far. No pressure now, love." Long as you didn't say was, she responds.