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Racism Quotes

Browse 3161 quotes about Racism.

Racism Quotes

“People would write me hate letters. How dare I try to represent Hispanics when I was so white? I tried to make them see it was racism.”

People Writing Trying Hate White Racism Letters Dare

Author:Cristina Saralegui

“The object is very clear in the fight against racism; you have reasons why you're opposed to it. But when you're writing a novel, you don't want the reader to come out of it voting yes or no to some question. Life is more complicated than that.”

Want Writing Reason Life Is Fighting Novel Clear Objects Reader Racism Complicated Reason Why Voting Yes Or No Against Racism

Author:Margaret Atwood

“"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

“As soon as you opened your mouth and said the word woman, you were beaten down with the argument that you were betraying the class struggle. There are many poignant writings in which feminists first write pages about their class standpoint before getting to their actual issue. What was then known as class warfare is today called anti-racism. The threat of being accused of racism gave birth to false tolerance.”

“Writing about racism requires a directness that writing a love story does not.”

Writing Doe Stories Racism Love Story

Author:Vivek Shraya

“Racism in our countries is a fact in that the indian is not allowed to be a politician or aspire to being head of state. It has reached the point that 99% of the indigenous women have not gone to school. The indigenous are condemned to live in a situation designed to exterminate them. They receive a pittance of a salary, they neither speak nor write the language, politics dictates their situation. Is this slavery? I don't know what it's called. It is not the same as before because we are in modern times.”

Knows Writing Country States Facts School Speak Language Situation Gone Modern Politician Racism Slavery Our Country Indian Aspire Indigenous Salary Modern Times Head Of State

Author:Rigoberta Menchu

“I don't really know exactly how it happened but I don't like the idea that I would ever have said I'm going to write about racism or puberty or bullying.”

Knows Writing Said Ideas Happened Racism Bullying Puberty

Author:Judy Blume

“First and foremost, I want people to have a good read, because I want everything I write to entertain people. There are always different layers to the story, though, so if you want to think about social justice, or sexism or racism or homophobia, or really drill down into why the world is a better place when the police force looks like the people they are policing, then that's there, too.”

People Thinking World Writing Different Justice Racism Police Social Justice Sexism Homophobia

Author:Karin Slaughter

“There are places and spaces for black writers to write about race as a central thing. It's important. We're still dealing with the remnants of slavery. We're still dealing with racism on a daily basis. For me, I choose to write books about black people where we are normal. I was raised to believe that I deserve to be in a room just like anybody else. I try to write books like that.”

People Writing Trying Believe Important Book Black Racism Deserve Slavery Black People

Author:Kwame Alexander

“As an artist your first loyalty is to your art. Unless this is the case, you're going to be a second-rate artist. I don't mean there's never any overlap. You learn things in one area and bring them into another area. But giving a speech against racism is not the same as writing a novel. The object is very clear in the fight against racism; you have reasons why you're opposed to it. But when you're writing a novel, you don't want the reader to come out of it voting yes or no to some question. Life is more complicated than that. Reality simply consists of different points of view.”

Giving Writing Mean Art Different Reason Reality Artist Fighting Novel Racism Complicated Point Of View Loyalty Voting Yes Or No

Author:Margaret Atwood

“I'm writing about the things I see all around me. Growing up in Mississippi, I've seen how these backward ideas about class and race and healthcare and education and housing and racism impact everyday lives. For example, my mother wouldn't let me go to my homecoming dance because the yacht club where they were having the dance threw a fundraiser for David Duke, an ex-Klan member, when he was running for governor of Louisiana. So I grew up seeing how personal politics could be.”

Writing Running Mother Growing Up Racism Let Me Everyday Healthcare Everyday Life Homecoming Yacht Let Me Go Fundraiser

Author:Jesmyn Ward

“There are things about the South - the politics, the classism, the racism - that I hate, and I want to be here to fight those things. I don't want to be in California or Michigan just complaining about them. I'm here trying to make a difference in the way I can, writing about it. And I want younger people, especially kids from my community, to see that being successful doesn't have to mean leaving a place like this. You don't have to trade in your family or your sense of belonging for that.”

People Writing Trying Mean Kids Hate Fighting Community Successful Racism I Hate Trade Leaving Complaining Our Family Making A Difference Being Successful Belonging I Want You Classism

Author:Jesmyn Ward

“Black writers, of whatever quality, who step outside the pale of what black writers are supposed to write about, or who black writers are supposed to be, are condemned to silences in black literary circles that are as total and as destructive as any imposed by racism.”

Writing Literature Black Silence Quality Steps Racism Circles Supposed To Be Destructive Racist Pale

Book:Conversations with Audre Lorde

Source: Conversations with Audre Lorde

“Richard exhaled. It was like somebody sprinkling pepper on his wound: Thousands of Biafrans were dead, and this man wanted to know if there was anything new about one dead white man. Richard would write about this, the rule of Western journalism: One hundred dead black people equal to one dead white person.”

People Ifs Knows Men Writing Persons Wanted Black White Equal Racism Hundred Western Wounds Journalism Black People White Man Peppers

Author:Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

“Writing is the urge to tell folks about it. About what? About what hurts you inside. Colored folks, through the sheer fact of being colored, have got plenty hurting them inside. You see, we, too, are one of those minority races the newspapers are always talking about. Except that we are here in America, not in Europe, fourteen million of us--a rather large minority, but still a minority. Now, what's hurting us? Well, Jim Crow is hurting us. Ghettos, and segregation, and lack of jobs is hurting us. Signs up: COLORED TRADE NOT DESIRED, and dirty names such as the Jews know under Hitler hurt us. So those of us who are writers have plenty to tell the world about. To us democracy is a paradox, full of contradictions.”

Writing Work Democracy Racism Trauma Minorities African Americans Blacks Segregation

Book:Good Morning, Revolution: Uncollected Social Protest Writings

Source: Good Morning, Revolution: Uncollected Social Protest Writings