There will be those who will tell you that you can't make it because of how you look, because of the way you talk. We all have heard that - I almost listened.
Slavery is nothing to joke about. The history of this nation's involvement with slavery is nothing to pass off in a joke.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the seriousness of slavery and criticizes making light of its historical significance.
Douglas Wilder's quote underscores the gravity of slavery as a historical issue and warns against trivializing it through humor. By pointing out that the nation's past involvement with slavery should not be treated casually or joked about, he highlights the need for deep reflection and respect for the suffering endured by many. This perspective advocates for a serious understanding of history and its impact on society today.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech addressing social justice, one might say, 'As Douglas Wilder reminds us, slavery is nothing to joke about, and we must acknowledge its impact on our society.'
More from Douglas Wilder
All quotes βSimilar quotes
...it would be a mistake...to ascribe to Roman legal conceptions an undivided sway over the development of law and institutions during the Middle Ages... The Laws of Moses as well as the laws of Rome contributed suggestions and impulse to the men and institutions which were to prepare the modern world; and if we could have but eyes to see... we should readily discover how very much besides religion we owe to the Jew.
If you seek Hamilton's monument, look around. You are living in it. We honor Jefferson, but live in Hamilton's country, a mighty industrial nation with a strong central government.
The death of Churchill at 90 was one of those watershed moments in which the obituary rises to a special calling beyond the sharing of remembered times. It gave an older generation a rare opportunity to explain something of itself to its children.
When I was a boy we didn't wake up with Vietnam and have Cyprus for lunch and the Congo for dinner.
Thus ended the great American Civil War, which must upon the whole be considered the noblest and least avoidable of all the great mass conflicts of which till then there was record.
Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you, because these geography books no longer exist; not only do the books not exist, the Arab villages are not there either. Nahalal arose in the place of Mahalul, Gevat - in the place of Jibta, Sarid - in the place of Haneifs and Kefar Yehoshua - in the place of Tell Shaman. There is no one place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population.