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We are a society that has been structured from top to bottom by race. You don't get beyond that by deciding not to talk about it anymore. It will always come back; it will always reassert itself over and over again.
Kimberle Williams Crenshaw
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the persistent and structural nature of race in society, suggesting that ignoring the issue will not lead to its resolution.

Kimberle Williams Crenshaw's quote highlights the importance of acknowledging and discussing the role of race in societal structures. It asserts that race is a fundamental organizing principle in society, and simply choosing to stop discussing it does not eliminate its impact. Instead, it will continue to influence social dynamics and relationships, necessitating ongoing conversation and examination.

Themes

RaceSocietyDiscussionStructureAcknowledgment

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about social justice at a community meeting.

More from Kimberle Williams Crenshaw

The struggle against patriarchy and racism must be substantively robust and inextricably intertwined.
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I have a wonderful, diverse, and young staff at the AAPF who pretty much work around the clock trying to figure out how we promote the idea that social justice requires us to be intersectional in our thinking and in our scope of vision.
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If you don't have a lens that's been trained to look at how various forms of discrimination come together, you're unlikely to develop a set of policies that will be as inclusive as they need to be.
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We have to move back to the idea that education isn't about teaching people to bow to rigid rules. That's not what democracy is about.
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Having a monolithic view of feminism is suffocating.
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We must begin to tell black women's stories because, without them, we cannot tell the story of black men, white men, white women, or anyone else in this country. The story of black women is critical because those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it.
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