The other reason that I am here today, again from the State Department and from the court record of the court of appeals, is that when I am abroad I speak out against the injustices against the Negro people of this land.

Could I say that the reason that I am here today, you know, from the mouth of the State Department itself, is: I should not be allowed to travel because I have struggled for years for the independence of the colonial peoples of Africa.

[Singer Marian Anderson was investigated in 1958 when the State Department considered her for] a top level position. ... typical temperamental musician.

Our State Department is often wrong and timid.

You know I am an actor, and I have medals for diction.

The mantra from the Obama State Department is 'smart power' - the not-so-new idea that all elements of national power should be utilized to influence other countries.