QuoteProject
I kept finding the same anguish, the same doubt; a self-contempt that neither irony nor intellect seemed able to deflect. Even DuBois’s learning and Baldwin’s love and Langston’s humor eventually succumbed to its corrosive force, each man finally forced to doubt art’s redemptive power, each man finally forced to withdraw, one to Africa, one to Europe, one deeper into the bowels of Harlem, but all of them in the same weary flight, all of them exhausted, bitter men, the devil at their heels.
Barack Obama
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote reflects on the deep anguish and self-contempt experienced by influential Black writers and thinkers, highlighting the struggles against societal constraints.

Barack Obama's quote captures the profound emotional turmoil faced by prominent African American figures, such as DuBois, Baldwin, and Hughes, as they grapple with self-doubt amidst their endeavors in art and culture. It illustrates how even the most celebrated intellects and talents were not immune to feelings of despair and disillusionment, suggesting that despite their significant contributions, they ultimately faced overwhelming challenges that made them question the redemptive nature of art and their place in society. Their retreat, whether geographically or emotionally, signifies a broader commentary on the struggles of identity and belonging in the face of systemic adversity.

Themes

AnguishSelf-ContemptArtRedemptionIdentity

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about the struggles faced by Black artists, this quote illustrates the shared challenges they endure.

More from Barack Obama

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
Barack ObamaRead
Now we're in the midst of not just advocating for change, not just calling for change - we're doing the grinding, sometimes frustrating work of delivering change - inch by inch, day by day.
Barack ObamaRead
The government has to treat all citizens equally. I am a strong supporter not of a weak version of civil unions, but of a strong version, in which the rights that are conferred at the federal level to persons who are part of the same-sex union are compatible. When it comes to federal rights, the over 1,100 rights that right now are not being given to same-sex couples, I think that's unacceptable.
Barack ObamaRead
Simple exchanges can break down walls between us, for when people come together and speak to one another and share a common experience, then their common humanity is revealed. We are reminded that we're joined together by our pursuit of a life that's productive and purposeful, and when that happens mistrust begins to fade and our smaller differences no longer overshadow the things that we share. And that's where progress begins.
Barack ObamaRead
We've had every official in Hawaii, Democrat and Republican, every news outlet that has investigated this, confirm that, yes, in fact, I was born in Hawaii, Aug. 4, 1961, in Kapiolani Hospital.
Barack ObamaRead
What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task. This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
Barack ObamaRead

Similar quotes

Individual liberty depends upon keeping government under control.
Ronald ReaganRead
Optimists and pessimists die the exact same death, but they live very different lives!
Shimon PeresRead
People, Reacher was certain about. Dogs were different. People had freedom of choice. If a man or a woman ran snarling toward him, they did so because they chose to. They were asking for whatever they got. His response was their problem. But dogs were different. No free will. Easily misled. It raised an ethical problem. Shooting a dog because it had been induced to do something unwise was not the sort of thing Reacher wanted to do.
Lee ChildRead
There is nothing more dangerous than to build a society with a large segment of people in that society who feel that they have no stake in it; who feel that that have nothing to lose. People who have stake in their society, protect that society, but when they don't have it, they unconsciously want to destroy it.
Martin Luther King, Jr.Read
But when one believes in the reality of things, making them visible by artificial means is not quite the same as feeling that they are close at hand.
Marcel ProustRead
It seems to me then as if all the moments of our life occupy the same space, as if future events already existed and were only waiting for us to find our way to them at last, just as when we have accepted an invitation we duly arrive in a certain house at a given time.
W. G. SebaldRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Barack Obama | QuoteProject