African American Quotes - Page 18

• In the Shadow of Slavery covers two and a half centuries of black life in New York City, and skillfully interweaves the categories of race and class as they affected the formation of African American identity. Leslie Harris has made a major contribution to our understanding of the black experience.

  Eric Foner

  New York, Race, Class

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• Recent events in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina have reaffirmed for me, however, the complete folly of any Republican strategy to increase black representation in the Republican Party by appeals based on race. Whatever the name- 'African American Outreach' or 'Black Republicans for Bush'- any effort to attract blacks or any other ethnic group to the Republican party, based on explicit or implicit appeals to race or ethnic identity, are not only a waste of time and resources, but are also misguided and potentially quite damaging to the nation.

  Ward Connerly

  Party, Names, Race

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• The Tea Party is protecting its millionaire and oil company friends while gutting critical services that they know protect the livelihood of African-Americans, as well as Latinos and other disadvantaged minorities.

  Andre Carson

  Party, Oil, Tea

  "Democratic Rep: Tea Party Would Love To See Black People ‘Hanging On A Tree’" By Jennifer Bendery, www.huffingtonpost.com. August 30, 2011.

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• When will we address the fact that rich, white people think they know what's in the best interest of children of African-Americans and Latinos - no matter what the parent's income or education level.

  Karen Lewis

  Children, Thinking, White

  "Lewis Points Finger At ‘Rich White People’ For School Problems". chicago.cbslocal.com. June 19, 2013.

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• All the books that were being published by African-American guys were saying 'screw whitey', or some variation of that. Not the scholars but the pop books. And the other thing they said was, 'You have to confront the oppressor.' I understand that. But you don't have to look at the world through his eyes. I'm not a stereotype; I'm not somebody else's version of who I am. And so when people said at that time black is beautiful – yeah? Of course. Who said it wasn't? So I was trying to say, in The Bluest Eye, wait a minute. Guys. There was a time when black wasn't beautiful. And you hurt.

  Toni Morrison

  Beautiful, Hurt, Book

  "Toni Morrison: 'I want to feel what I feel. Even if it's not happiness'". Interview With Emma Brockes, www.theguardian.com. April 13, 2012.

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• Justice is not cheap. Justice is not quick. It is not ever finally achieved.

  Marian Wright Edelman

  Justice

  Marian Wright Edelman (1987). “Families in Peril: An Agenda for Social Change”, p.107, Harvard University Press

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• I have been guilty of watching Westerns without acknowledging that Native Americans have gone through the same madness as African Americans. Isn't it extraordinary that sometimes the most offended have not seen others being offended?

  Judith Jamison

  Native American, Gone, Madness

  Judith Jamison (1993). “Dancing Spirit: An Autobiography”, Doubleday Books

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• Take that bone out of your nose and call me back (to an African American female caller).

  Rush Limbaugh

  Noses, Female, Bones

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• Differences can be a strength.

  Condoleezza Rice

  Differences

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• Powerful people never educate powerless people in what they need that they can use to take the power away from powerful people; it's too much to expect. If I was in power, I would not educate people in how to take my powers away.

  Dr. John

  Powerful, People, Needs

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• How did the party that elected the first black U.S. senator, the party that elected the first 20 African-American congressmen, how did that party become a party that now loses 95 percent of the black vote?

  Rand Paul

  Party, Rights, Race

  "Sen. Rand Paul Tries To Repair GOP's Image With Minorities". "Morning Edition" with David Greene, www.npr.org. April 11, 2013.

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• Obama a ‘light-skinned’ African-American ‘with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.

  Harry Reid

  Country, Light, Racism

  "Harry Reid’s Non-Gaffe" by Kevin Drum, www.motherjones.com. January 10, 2010.

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• The whites were really brutishly ignorant, blitheringly, so they killed people sometimes - just came into the African-American community and maimed people because they didn't agree with God's choice for the colors of the people's skin.

  Maya Angelou

  Color, Racism, People

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• [According to Twitter] 24 percent of American Twitter users are African-American. That's about twice as high as African-Americans are represented in the population.

  Ethan Zuckerman

  Technology, Population, Internet

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• People had their image of what a cowboy was, ... A lot of it was perpetuated by the media presentations of the cowboys in fiction and old Westerns. And because of the tenure of the times, African-Americans were left out. As a result, reality was distorted.

  Philip Roberts

  Reality, Cowboy, Media

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• Really, the potential for, first of all, any college graduate today is enormously good. These are good times for anyone with a college degree today, particularly African Americans. With a college degree today, you really breach the unemployment rate.

  Alexis Herman

  Inspirational, Funny, Graduation

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• There's good reason to be excited. You have the first woman running who is qualified, and a very attractive African-American who has demonstrated crossover appeal. I got involved in politics 40 years ago during the civil rights movement, so yes, it's an exciting thing.

  Joe Biden

  Running, Rights, Years

  "Biden officially running for president". MSNBC.com, January 31, 2007.

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• When the students were asked to identify their race on a pretest questionnaire, that simple act was sufficient to prime them with all the negative stereotypes associated with African Americans and academic achievement. If a white student from a prestigious private high school gets a higher SAT score than a black student from an inner-city school, is it because she’s truly a better student, or is it because to be white and to attend a prestigious high school is to be constantly primed with the idea of “smart”?

  Malcolm Gladwell

  Smart, School, Simple

  "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking". Book by Malcolm Gladwell, 2005.

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• If Id lived prior to the 1980s, it would have been different, because I would have been playing to prove African Americans are equal. Now, I dont necessarily feel I have to play for black people, because obviously theyre doing everything in all sports. If I can go out there and play for myself and not feel I have to stand for something other than what I want to do, thats good.

  Venus Williams

  Sports, Play, People

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• Colored, Negro, Afro-American, African American. ... Every couple of years someone came up with something that got us an inch closer to the truth. Bit by bit we crept along. As if that thing we believed to be approaching actually existed.

  Colson Whitehead

  Couple, Years, Afros

  Colson Whitehead (2007). “Apex Hides the Hurt”, p.192, Anchor

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• I was filled with rage. These same people who accuse Planned Parenthood of ‘targeting’ African-American children, they care about you only while you’re in the womb. The minute you crown, you’re on your own.

  Gwen Moore

  Children, People, Crowns

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• Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations. If you adopt their attitudes, then the possibility won't exist because you'll have already shut it out...You can hear other people's wisdom, but you've got to re-evaluate the world for yourself.

  Mae Jemison

  Inspirational, Attitude, People

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• Black churches are very powerful forces in the African American community and always have been. Because religion has been that one place where you have an imagination that no one can control. And so, as long as you know that you are a human being and nobody can take that away from you, then God is that reality in your life that enables you to know that.

  James H. Cone

  Powerful, Reality, Long

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• The adoring crowds and overwhelming Democratic support in the 2008 election was based largely on joy at jettisoning Bush and the appeal of electing a superbly qualified charismatic African American leader.

  Mary Frances Berry

  Joy, Leader, Support

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• I have a very personal interest. I am a Miami-Dade voter. One of the issues is that my vote and so many other votes of women and African Americans in Florida are being discounted or discarded. I want my vote to count.

  Patricia Ireland

  Florida, Issues, Want

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