My books are not about how it feels to be a black man. My books are about how it feels to be a human being, and part of what I'm trying to sort out is what we mean - what I mean, what you mean, what everybody in the culture means - when they say 'black man,' or they say 'white person.'
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the universal human experience over racial identities.
John Edgar Wideman's quote reflects on the complexity of human identity, suggesting that while race is a significant aspect of individual experience, his writing aims to reach beyond racial distinctions to explore the commonalities of the human condition. He highlights the need for deeper understanding and communication about race, urging a conversation that includes multiple perspectives on what it means to be both black and white in society.
In practice
In a speech on diversity, one might use this quote to emphasize the shared human experience beyond racial lines.
My aunt Geraldine was the unofficial historian and storyteller. She had all the information about family members and the gossip that came out of the church because we were very much part of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. At family gatherings, the older folk had the floor, had pride of place, and it was their stories I remember.
When war becomes the most profitable course of action, we can certainly expect more of it.
The truth is always an abyss. One must — as in a swimming pool — dare to dive from the quivering springboard of trivial everyday experience and sink into the depths, in order to later rise again — laughing and fighting for breath — to the now doubly illuminated surface of things.
Men are conservatives when they are least vigorous or when they are most luxurious-they are conservatives after dinner.
This sorrow weighs upon the melancholy souls of those who lived without infamy or praise.
If you create an act, you create a habit. If you create a habit, you create a character. If you create a character, you create a destiny.
For mortal men there is but one hell, and that is the folly and wickedness and spite of his fellows; but once his life is over, there's an end to it: his annihilation is final and entire, of him nothing survives.
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