Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Bryan Stevenson

Quote by Bryan Stevenson

“Of course innocent mistakes occur, but the accumulated insults and indignations caused by racial presumptions are destructive in ways that are hard to measure. Constantly being suspected, accused, watched, doubted, distrusted, presumed guilty, and even feared is a burden borne by people of color that can't be understood or confronted without a deeper conversation about our history of racial injustice.”

Quote by Bryan Stevenson

Book:Just Mercy
Create image

Work

Just Mercy

Browse quotes and source details for this work. more

Author

Bryan Stevenson
Bryan Stevenson

Bryan Stevenson is an American lawyer, educator, and social activist known for his contributions to criminal justice reform and the defense of the rights of the poor. Born on November 14, 1959, Stevenson is a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Law. more

You May Also Like

“I’m not sure Black people can be happy in this world. There’s just too much of a backstory of sadness that’s always clawing at their heels. And no matter how hard you try to outrun it, life always comes through with those reminders letting you know that, more than anything, you’re just a part of an exploited people and a denied destiny and all you can do is hate your past and, by proxy, hate yourself”

ExploitationRacial InjusticeHistorical Consequences
Book:Hell of a Book
Create image

“Standing on a street corner in Manhattan two days after Diallo's murder, having just come from a meeting of concerned citizens to plan an organized response, I was so filled with frustration and sorrow that I turned to the woman beside me waiting for the light to change and asked 'What do you think about the cops shooting that man forty-one-times?' She looked startled, confused--could she not feel the palpable rage, pain, and fear that pulsed through the black veins of this city and other cities across the nation? 'I don't know. I have to wait until all the facts are in. I'm sure they had a reason,' she finally responded. Perhaps she saw the disgust and disappointment on my face. Stepping off the curb as the light turned green, she added, 'I mean, he must have done something.”

Police BrutalitySystemic RacismRacial Injustice
Book:Police Brutality: An Anthology
Create image

“Eyes watching through filtered screens seeing every lie, reading every made-up word like a black hoodie counts as a mask like some shit I do with my fingers counts as gang signs like a few fights counts as uncontrollable rage like failing three classes counts as being dumb as fuck like everything that I am, that I've ever been counts as being guilty”

Criminal JusticeCriminal Justice SystemRacial InjusticeCriminal Justice Reform
Book:Punching the Air
Create image

“Saying down with the blacks but uplift the white race Raising the banner to the sun in haste Mobbed deep, hoods and capes Sun-dried and bloodstained Saying down with the blacks but uplift the white race Unjustly tried an indelible conviction the usual result of five shades of darker skin Justice unjust, black robes and pale face Didn't have a chance, they called us apes I wish I would have known the false smiles Evil intentions fulfilling their taste Why me? Why us? Justice unjust, black robes and pale faces?”

Criminal JusticeRacial DiscriminationCriminal Justice SystemRacial Injustice
Book:Punching the Air
Create image

“Back then and even now, my black friends and family members often tell me they don't consider me white. I don't think that's what they really mean. What they mean is that they feel safe with me. They mean they don't fear the noose in my presence. Their face being pressed to the concrete. My knee being pressed against their neck. My weight bearing down. When they say they don't consider me white, what they mean is that I see them. That I'm with them. That I won't stand for the little white genocides they're subjected to one podium speech at a time.”

Black Lives MatterRacial InjusticeBlack LoveRacial Inequality
Book:Wounds
Create image

“Cars slowed down as they passed. White drivers with white passengers. White parents with white children, watching. Not seeing, I imagine, three innocent black boys being harassed by racist police officers. Seeing three black criminals being brought to justice. Young minds being shaped into wrong thinking. Generational ignorance being reinforced through misconstrued observation.”

Black Lives MatterRacism In AmericaRacial InjusticeBlack Love
Book:Wounds
Create image

“Pressuring, demanding, or encouraging forgiveness from Black survivors may be used as a method to avoid the realities of systemic racism and racial trauma and used as a substitution for enacting substantive social justice.”

ForgivenessSocial JusticeBlack Lives MatterForgiveness QuotesSystemic RacismRacial DiscriminationRacial InjusticeBlack Trauma QuotesRacial Trauma
Book:You Don't Need to Forgive: Trauma Recovery on Your Own Terms
Create image