Animals can communicate quite well. And they do. And generally speaking, they are ignored
Alice WalkerRead
The sight of a Black nun strikes their sentimentality; and, as I am unalterably rooted in native ground, they consider me a work of primitive art, housed in a magical color; the incarnation of civilized, anti-heathenism, and the fruit of a triumphing idea.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on how people perceive and categorize a Black nun, reducing her identity to a mere artistic representation rather than recognizing her humanity.
Alice Walker's quote delves into the complex dynamics of race, identity, and perception in society. She critiques how the sight of a Black nun is often met with sensationalism and superficial admiration, as observers project their romanticized notions of 'primitive art' onto her, rather than seeing her as an individual with her own experiences and dignity. This reflection highlights the broader issues of cultural appropriation and the need for deeper understanding beyond superficial appearances.
Themes
IdentityRaceArtPerceptionCulture
In practice
Example use cases
During a panel on race and representation in art, this quote can be used to facilitate a discussion on how cultural identities are often misrepresented.
More from Alice Walker
All quotes →June Jordan, who died of cancer in 2002, was a brilliant, fierce, radical, and frequently furious poet. We were friends for thirty years. Not once in that time did she step back from what was transpiring politically and morally in the world. She spoke up, and led her students, whom she adored, to do the same.
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On a spiritual level, it's as though with my sighted eye I see what's before me, and with my unsighted eye I see what's hidden. It's illuminated life more than darkened it.
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I think 'The Color Purple' is so bursting with love, the need for connection, the showing of the need for connection around the globe.
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How long will it take the citizens of the United States, one wonders, to recognize that the house their country bombed in Iraq is the same one they were living in until it was foreclosed?
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One white man on the platform in South Carolina asked us where we were going--we had got off the train to get some fresh air and to dust the grit and dust out of our clothes. When we said Africa he looked offended and tickled too. Niggers going to Africa, he said to his wife. Now I have seen everything.
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