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Racism Quotes

Browse 3161 quotes about Racism.

Racism Quotes

“in race relations, the single gesture and the single individual are more often than not doomed to failure. Only the group and the long-term, undeviating policy make much headway. ... if you want to make the world a better place, the first thing you must accept is the fact that you cannot transcend your limitations as an individual.”

Source: Color blind: a white woman looks at the Negro

“"Oppression" or "systems of oppression" operate as a shorthand terms in much writing and speaking so that we do not have to list all these systems of meaning and control each time (i.e. racism, ableism, xenophobia, etc.). I needed a term like that, but "oppression" implies a kind of top-down understanding of power that is at odds with the Foucaultian model I rely on in my work.”

Writing Kind Understanding Term Needed Models Racism Lists Oppression Rely Etc Odds Xenophobia Top Down Shorthand

Author:Dean Spade

“It wasn't the intention to do something important, or to even relate about social issues. The ground is so fertile in the justice world, dealing with the death penalty and the Innocence Project, for characters that have a moral ambiguity, which we were both attracted to. It's the idea that everybody has their reasons. Whatever their actions are, whether you agree with them or not, you can understand why they're feeling that way, in terms of racism or even the death penalty.”

“This was in the '70s and there was a lot of racism towards South Asians and there was a lot of hazing and bullying and racism that really probably shaped me in some way in terms of, like, wanting to get out of there.”

Way Term Racism South Bullying Hazing

Author:Aasif Mandvi

“To put it in layman's terms, crazy is crazy. And crazy will find a way to do something crazy. Racist is racist. And racist people will find a way to project their racism onto the world.”

People World Way Term Crazy Projects Racism Racist Layman

Author:Nia Long

“We have laws on the books. If somebody's discriminating against you, I strongly advocate suing them. That's the most effective thing you can do in terms of fighting racism. People understand that they're vulnerable to lawsuit.”

People Ifs Book Law Fighting Term Can Do Racism Vulnerable Lawsuit Suing

Author:Shelby Steele

“It's a cause for great concern because a lot of people have said and done repulsive things in terms of racism and misogyny and marginalizing people - it's really come to fruition, something I've spent the last 21 years of my life trying to expose and educate people on. This really is kind of a dream scenario for white nationalists at the moment.”

People Trying Kind Done Moments Dream Term Racism Concern Educate Misogyny

Author:Christian Picciolini

“In terms of activism, the Trump-era transformation of news into entertainment has had a deep effect on the way that collegiate politics are perceived. Campuses are a main flashpoint of the post-2016 culture wars about free speech, racism, and elite privilege. That's undeniable.”

War Culture Term Racism Transformation Activism Free Speech

Author:Vanessa Grigoriadis

“Jonestown was supposed to be a great socialist experiment, a place where all the evil "isms" would be eradicated: racism, sexism, elitism. This appealed to blacks and white progressives alike. Fed up with racist "AmeriKKKa," they were going to start their own society, on their own terms.”

Evil Term Racism Racist Sexism Socialist Fed Up Elitism

Author:Julia Scheeres

“In terms of the contemporary food system we see a lot of racism currently. Obviously we have a large supply of food. A lot of people don't examine why that is the case, but there are a number of nonwhite migrant workers being exploited every day.”

People Term Racism

Author:Bryant Terry

“Jazz is a white term to define black people. My music is black classical music.”

People Black Term White Music Music Is Racism Jazz Black People Classical Music Jazz Music Classic Music

Author:Nina Simone

“…“white supremacy” is a much more useful term for understanding the complicity of people of color in upholding and maintaining racial hierarchies that do not involve force (i.e slavery, apartheid) than the term “internalized racism”- a term most often used to suggest that black people have absorbed negative feelings and attitudes about blackness. The term “white supremacy” enables us to recognize not only that black people are socialized to embody the values and attitudes of white supremacy, but we can exercise “white supremacist control” over other black people.”

“It must be remembered that in those great days I was considered to be an "integrationist" - this was never, quite, my own idea of myself - and Malcolm was considered to be a "racist in reverse." This formulation, in terms of power - and power is the arena in which racism is acted out - means absolutely nothing: it may even be described as a cowardly formulation. The powerless, by definition, can never be "racists," for they can never make the world pay for what they feel or fear except by the suicidal endeavor which makes them fanatics or revolutionaries, or both.”

World Feels May Mean Ideas Term My Own Pay Racism Definitions Remembered Revolutionary Racist Endeavor Reverse Powerless Suicidal Arena Fanatics Absolutely Nothing Cowardly Great Day

Author:James A. Baldwin

“A racially integrated community is a chronological term timed from the entrance of the first black family to the exit of the last white family.”

Firsts Lasts Black Term Community White Racism Black And White Exit Integrated Entrances Racial Discrimination Black Family

Author:Saul Alinsky

“The system functioned relatively automatically, and the prevailing system of racial meanings, identities, and ideologies already seemed natural. Ninety percent of those admitted to prison for drug offenses in many states were Black or Latino, yet the mass incarceration of communities of color was explained in race-neutral terms, an adaptation to the needs and demands of the current political climate.”

Source: The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

“What [American universities] need, and would much benefit from, is more Marxists, radicals, leftists - all terms conventionally applied to those who fight against exploitation, racism, sexism, and capitalism. We can never have too many of these, just as we can never have too few 'conservatives'.”

Needs Fighting Term Benefits Racism Capitalism University Radical Sexism Exploitation Marxist Leftists American Universities

Author:Grover Furr

“There should be a class on drugs. There should be a class on sex education-a real sex education class-not just pictures and diaphragms and 'un-logical' terms and things like that.....there should be a class on scams, there should be a class on religious cults, there should be a class on police brutality, there should be a class on apartheid, there should be a class on racism in America, there should be a class on why people are hungry, but there are not, there are classes on gym, physical education, let's learn volleyball.”

“I know I'm breaking a taboo by using the term antiwhite racism, but I do so intentionally, because it's the reality some of our fellow citizens live with, and remaining quiet about it only aggravates their trauma.”

Knows Reality Term Citizens Quiet Racism Fellows Trauma Taboo

Author:Jean-Francois Cope