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
Racism is endemic to the human condition, just as stupidity is. We will always have to be on guard against it. But now it is recognized as a scourge, as the crowning immorality of our age and our history.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Racism is an inherent issue within humanity that requires constant vigilance, now acknowledged as a significant moral failing.
Shelby Steele's quote emphasizes that racism is a persistent component of human nature, akin to ignorance, which necessitates continuous awareness and defense against it. The author suggests that while racism has always existed, it is now seen as a profound ethical problem of contemporary society, highlighting its moral implications and the importance of tackling such injustices.
Themes
RacismStupidityHuman ConditionImmoralityVigilance
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on social justice, this quote can be used to emphasize the need for continuous efforts against racism.
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.
Shelby SteeleRead
The 'safe spaces' for minority students on university campuses are actually redemptive spaces for white students and administrators looking for innocence and empowerment.
Shelby SteeleRead
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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