Du Bois marked a great stage in the history of Negro struggles when he said that Negroes could no longer accept the subordination which Booker T. Washington had preached.
C. L. R. JamesRead
It is over one hundred years since the abolition of slavery. The Negro people in the United States have taken plenty and they have reached a stage where they have decided that they are not going to take any more.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the determination of the African American community to stand against oppression after a long history of suffering.
C. L. R. James reflects on the significant historical achievement of the abolition of slavery over a century ago, highlighting that the African American community has endured a legacy of hardship and oppression. He notes that they have reached a point of resilience where they refuse to accept further injustices, illustrating their strength and resolve to fight for their rights and dignity.
Themes
SlaveryFreedomResilienceOppressionJustice
In practice
Example use cases
During a Black History Month event, this quote can be used to inspire discussions about civil rights.
More from C. L. R. James
All quotes →Technological discoveries are the spermatozoa of social change.
C. L. R. JamesRead
One of the surest signs of the estimated changes in the consciousness of the American proletariat is to be found in the character of the demands now being put forward by the leadership.
C. L. R. JamesRead
Capitalism has socialized production. It has brought thousands of people together in the factory and involved them in new social relationships.
C. L. R. JamesRead
I was a Labour Party man but I found myself to the left of the Labour party in Nelson, militant as that was. I came to London and in a few months I was a Trotskyist.
C. L. R. JamesRead
Today, in American imperialism, the commodity has reached its most grandiose historical manifestation.
C. L. R. JamesRead
Similar quotes
This is the moment when something once more begins visibly to happen, something truly new and unique... something truly historical, in the sense that history again demands to be heard.
Vaclav HavelRead
Travel is not really about leaving our homes, but leaving our habits.
Pico IyerRead
I did say, at Chicago, in my speech there, that I do wish to see the spread of slavery arrested and to see it placed where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in course of ultimate extinction.
Abraham LincolnRead
If it ain't broke, don't fix it' is the slogan of the complacent, the arrogant or the scared. It's an excuse for inaction, a call to non-arms.
Colin PowellRead
When it comes to dealing with the world's climate and energy challenges, I have a simple rule: change America, change the world.
Thomas FriedmanRead
Keep recognizing that reality is changing and that your ideas have to change. Don’t get stuck in old ideas.
Grace Lee BoggsRead