By healing the internal issues that we can heal as a people, our children don't have to suffer the same agony and pain that we put each other through.
Bill DukeRead
I'm an American, but being a black American, my experience is a particular one, my struggles have been particular.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the unique experiences and struggles faced by Black Americans within the broader context of American identity.
In this quote, Bill Duke emphasizes the specificity of his experiences as a Black American, suggesting that while he identifies with being American, his struggles are shaped by his racial identity. This highlights the importance of acknowledging diverse experiences within larger cultural narratives and understanding that not all American experiences are the same.
Themes
ExperienceStruggleIdentityRaceAmerican
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on racial equality, one could quote this to highlight the uniqueness of individual struggles.
More from Bill Duke
All quotes βWell, in the '80s and '70s, with the exception of Sidney Poitier and Brock Peters, maybe Ivan Dixon, if you were as big and black as I am, you were a bad guy. Simple. Because in real life, I scare people.
Bill DukeRead
It really upsets me that the media insists on turning 'Do the Right Thing' or 'Boyz N the Hood' into 'black films.' They are American films. They may open the window on the black experience, but they had things to say to everybody. That's why they were so successful.
Bill DukeRead
My parents never let the color of our skin be an excuse for why we did not succeed.
Bill DukeRead
Dark skin is considered less than light skin in the in the minds of many in our community and in the media.
Bill DukeRead
Similar quotes
There is nothing more important to a democracy than an active and engaged press.
William H. McravenRead
Racism is a much more clandestine, much more hidden kind of phenomenon, but at the same time it's perhaps far more terrible than it's ever been.
Angela DavisRead
There is no greater impediment to the advancement of knowledge than the ambiguity of words. To this chiefly it is owing that we find sects and parties in most branches of science [and politics]; and disputes that are carried on from age to age, without being brought to issue.
Thomas ReidRead
I cannot fail to note once again that the poor constitute the modern challenge, especially for the well-off of our planet, where millions of people live in inhuman conditions and many are literally dying of hunger. It is not possible to announce God the Father to these brothers and sisters without taking on the responsibility of building a more just society in the name of Christ.
Pope John Paul IiRead
In the end, like the Almighty Himself, we make everything in our image, for want of a more reliable model; our artifacts tell more about ourselves than our confessions.
Joseph BrodskyRead
The most prudent thing any intelligent animal can do, if it would prefer its descendents not to spend a lot of time on a slab with electrodes clamped to their brains or sticking mines on the bottom of ships, or being patronised by zoologists, is to make bloody certain humans don't find out about it.
Terry PratchettRead