Officer Clemmons Quotes

“I found it hard to pray, but I kept trying. I wondered where God was in the midst of my crises with my parents and my unsettling move out of the house. Just living with this big silence was difficult. I kept my fears and questions to myself. I smiled when I wanted to cry. I kept busy when I just wanted to run away and be by myself and think.”
― François S. Clemmons, Officer Clemmons

“I could pretend I was happy again.”
― François S. Clemmons, Officer Clemmons

“authored by a black, gay, ordained person of the theater”
― François S. Clemmons, Officer Clemmons

“I feel the whole world wrapping its gigantic arms around me in one soul-smothering, cosmic hug.”
― François S. Clemmons, Officer Clemmons

“I was amazed when I fully realized how much love would find me once I honestly exposed my true self.”
― François S. Clemmons, Officer Clemmons

“It is important to show gratitude when life has been kind to you.”
― François S. Clemmons, Officer Clemmons

“Many times, I’m not sure we’re necessarily meant to be happy in this life. There’s so much work to be done. There are times I feel a deep sense of contentment, and I have known satisfaction from a job well done. But happiness is another matter altogether.”
― François S. Clemmons, Officer Clemmons

“Mentorship was for life in my humble opinion,”
― François S. Clemmons, Officer Clemmons

“What do you do when good people are silent in the face of such brazen racism?”
― François S. Clemmons, Officer Clemmons

“I always knew that the parts I had put aside weren’t dead. But in this life, they were definitely not needed. I exiled the most passionate, the most loving, and the most sensitive parts of myself.”
― François S. Clemmons, Officer Clemmons

“My only serious defense was awareness. I couldn’t afford to become lackadaisical.”
― François S. Clemmons, Officer Clemmons

“But just when things are going along smoothly, and you think you’re in sync with the rhythm of your life, some major event intrudes and makes you realize that you’re not in control.”
― François S. Clemmons, Officer Clemmons

“Like a shattered dam, it snapped, and I loosed a flood of grateful tears. Those tears were strengthening and healing to me.”
― François S. Clemmons, Officer Clemmons

“some white people would never fully commit themselves to helping black people, while others would.”
― François S. Clemmons, Officer Clemmons

“Gossip and rumors are crafty demons that have immense power to ruin people’s lives. They are often found in the least likely places.”
― François S. Clemmons, Officer Clemmons

“My message is simply one of inclusiveness and love. Period.”
― François S. Clemmons, Officer Clemmons

“Everybody knew something, and nobody said anything.”
― François S. Clemmons, Officer Clemmons

“Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like ‘struggle.’ To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.” —FRED ROGERS”
― François S. Clemmons, Officer Clemmons