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
I am a black American, I say, and thus announce my atavistic connection to all others who live as black Americans, to all who ever lived as black Americans. Religion, caste, class, gender and race can all be atavisms, and they are inherently anti-democratic because they exclude all outside the atavism.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote speaks to the interconnectedness of black Americans through shared history and experiences, highlighting how divisions based on identity can undermine democracy.
Shelby Steele's statement emphasizes the deep-rooted ties among black Americans that extend beyond mere individual identity; it suggests that recognizing these connections is essential for fostering inclusivity. At the same time, it critiques how affiliations such as religion, caste, class, gender, and race can act as atavistic barriers, promoting exclusion and undermining democratic ideals. By critiquing these forms of identity, Steele calls for a more inclusive perspective that acknowledges shared human experience over divisive categorizations.
Themes
IdentityInclusivityDemocracyBlack AmericanHeritageDivision
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a discussion on racial identity in a sociology class.
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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