To this day it is all but impossible for me to actually stop and think of my parents as white and black or to think of myself, therefore, as half and half.
Shelby SteeleRead
I think we have come to a place in black America, sadly from my point of view, where we have once again begun to rely on our history of victimization as our primary source of power to wield within society.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote discusses how some individuals in black America may be using their history of victimization as a means to gain power in society.
In this quote, Shelby Steele reflects on a perceived shift in the mindset of black America, suggesting that reliance on historical grievances has become a predominant strategy for empowerment. He posits that rather than seeking strength and agency from individual accomplishments or aspirations, there is a troubling trend towards emphasizing past victimization as the basis for societal influence and leverage, which he views as a limiting perspective.
Themes
VictimizationPowerSocietyBlack AmericaHistory
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on social justice during a community meeting.
More from Shelby Steele
All quotes →Through protest - especially in the 1950s and '60s - we, as a people, touched greatness. Protest, not immigration, was our way into the American Dream. Freedom in this country had always been relative to race, and it was black protest that made freedom an absolute.
Shelby SteeleRead
Well, protest is central to the evolution of black American culture. It was protest that really finally won our freedom for us. Beyond that, it's always interesting to note that it expanded the idea of democracy.
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The 'safe spaces' for minority students on university campuses are actually redemptive spaces for white students and administrators looking for innocence and empowerment.
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The evil of slavery and colonialism was that these oppressions kept their victims out of history, disconnected them from the evolutionary struggle.
Shelby SteeleRead
Emmitt Till had walked into a cultural narrative in which his role was already tragically written. It was a narrative designed to preserve white supremacy. So it gave power - the right to kill - to any white claiming to defend the honor of white women.
Shelby SteeleRead
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