African American quotes

African American

493 quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.

493 quotes

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African American quotes (page 5 of 25)

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Russell Freedman Author, Historian
African American

"The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights were all written by affluent white males, but to discuss them in any meaningful way, you have to bring in the roles of African Americans - the enslaved blacks - and the roles of women, who were scarcely acknowledged by those documents. You have to discuss why slavery wasn't outlawed by the Constitution, why women weren't given the votes. The Bill of Rights isn't about dead white males anymore, and it's not just about live white males either; it's about every minority group that exists."

Meaningful Independence African American
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Barack Obama Politician
African American

"It will be up to each of you to make sure that young people, African Americans, Latinos and women who powered our victory in 2008 stand together once again."

People Victory African American
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Barack Obama Politician
African American

"As an elected official who comes from the African-American community, there are some similarities. You are always trying to reconcile your own personal biography and affiliations with the demands of the broader democracy. And you need to make sure you are representing everybody."

Community African American Always Trying
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Barack Obama Politician
African American

"Bernie Sanders would say, "You still have millions of African Americans who aren't insured, and if we had a single-payer system, that wouldn't be the case." And that's true."

Stills Cases African American
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Barack Obama Politician
African American

"The same would be true for something like Social Security, where historically, if you just read the law and the fact that it excluded domestic workers or agricultural workers, you might not see race in it, unless you knew that that covered a huge chunk of African Americans, particularly in the South."

Law Race African American
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Barack Obama Politician
African American

"I have 90 percent or 95 percent support in the African American community and it's not sort of "Well, he's black, so it's okay. We're not going to say anything even though we're seething." And I hang out with a lot of middle-aged black women, and they're not casual in their support of me. There's a lot of love forthcoming. Partly because they understand the constraints of this society. They know that this is hard."

Community Support African American
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Barack Obama Politician
African American

"I think if you worked at the community level in Chicago and then a politician on the South Side of Chicago, and worked at the state level, then you're pretty familiar with all the variations of politics in the African American community and criticisms you may get. If you're not familiar with those or you don't have a thick enough skin to take it, then you probably wouldn't have gotten here."

Thinking Community African American
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Bell Hooks Author, Feminist, Social Activist
African American

"Had middle class black women begun a movement in which they had labeled themselves "oppressed," no one would have taken them seriously."

Taken Class African American
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Bell Hooks Author, Feminist, Social Activist
African American

"It's really important to have life strategies and part of that is sort of knowing where you want to go so you can have a map that helps you to get there. And the traditional way tells us oh we get into school and someone else advises us, helps us, but that often does not work for African Americans female and male. Because what works for the dominant culture often does not work for us."

School Knowing African American
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Douglas Wilder Politician
African American

"During the 2008 campaign, I strongly endorsed Barack Obama for president. I did so early, when many Democratic leaders - including many prominent African-American politicians - believed the safe bet was to back then-front-runner Hillary Clinton."

President Leader African American
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Dontrelle Willis Baseball Player
African American

"I hope that more [African-Americans] decide to play after seeing the things that I was able to accomplish; not only myself, but other African-American players. Hopefully, they pick up a bat and a ball and go out there and play."

Player African American Bats
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Cornel West Philosopher
African American

"I think the important thing to understand first and foremost about Michael Jackson is that he was the international emblem of the African American blues spiritual impulse that goes back through slavery - Jim Crow, Jane Crow, up to the present moment, through a Louis Armstrong, through a Ma Rainey, through a Bessie Smith, all the way to John Coltrane, Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone."

Thinking Spiritual African American
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Bryant Terry Chef, Author
African American

"In terms of addressing some of the most impacted communities and historically excluded communities - often of color, often low income - there is this adage in specifically African American communities that on every corner in low income neighborhoods you'll find a liquor store."

Community African American Liquor
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Alveda King Activist
African American

"African-Americans who might have disagreed with candidate Barack Obama's left-of-center politics voted for him in 2008 because electing a candidate with brown skin was too historic an opportunity to miss."

Opportunity Missing African American
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Andre Carson Politician
African American

"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."

Party Oil African American
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Artur Davis Politician
African American

"With respect to Barack Obama, let's face it; Barack Obama is an iconic figure in the African-American community. We respect that. We understand that. African-Americans are going to vote for the first black president, especially when he happens to share the liberal politics on economic issues that many in that community hold."

Issues Community African American
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