In order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of race. There is no other way. And in order to treat some persons equally, we must treat them differently.
Interpretation
Acknowledging race is essential to combat racism, and equality sometimes requires differential treatment.
In this quote, Harry A. Blackmun emphasizes that to effectively address and overcome racism, society must first recognize and understand the significance of race. He suggests that genuine equality cannot be achieved by ignoring racial differences; instead, it calls for acknowledging those differences and sometimes responding with tailored approaches to ensure fair treatment for all individuals.
In practice
During a diversity training session, one could share this quote to emphasize the importance of recognizing race in discussions about equality.
I cannot see any of these death penalty cases where there hasn't been a violation on the ground of either poverty or race. If we can ever get that straightened out, it will help. But, of course, the real answer to it is to do away with the death penalty.
From this day forward, I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death. ... I fell morally and intellectually obligated simply to concede that the death penalty experiment has failed.
Of one thing, however, I am certain. Just as an execution without adequate safeguards is unacceptable, so too is an execution when the condemned prisoner can prove that he is innocent. The execution of a person who can show that he is innocent comes perilously close to simple murder.
The right of an individual to conduct intimate relationships in the intimacy of his or her own home seems to me to be the heart of the Constitutions protection of privacy.
From this day forward, I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death.
I hope you will be yourself, human, even a little sentimental, possessed of a sense of humor and a sense of humility. . . . There are arrogant people in this world and, what is worse, arrogant judges.
Darkness always had its part to play. Without it, how would we know when we walked in the light? It’s only when its ambitions become too grandiose that it must be opposed, disciplined, sometimes—if necessary—brought down for a time. Then it will rise again, as it must.
In the dime stores and bus stations, people talk of situations, read books, repeat quotations, draw conclusions on the wall.
Maybe I don't need a relationship after all, she thought. Maybe thinking about these conversations was just as good as having them. She could sit in her Honda in the dark and experience whatever kind of life she wanted. Sometimes you think, Hey, maybe there's something else out there. But there really isn't. This is what being alive feels like, you know? The place doesn't matter. You just live.
Let's all understand that these guiding principles cannot be discarded for short-term political gains. They represent what this country is all about. They are indigenous to the American idea. And these are principles which are not negotiable.
It is necessary, in this world, to be made of harder stuff than one's environment.
I have often seen people uncivil by too much civility, and tiresome in their courtesy.
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