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.
Well-spent aid money is saving lives for a few thousand dollars per life saved.
It is highly improbable that the bureaucrat will put his life on the line. It is absolutely impossible that he'll put his job on the line.
We are spirit children of a loving Heavenly Father who placed us in mortality to see if we would choose - freely choose - to keep His commandments and come unto His Beloved Son. They do not compel us. They cannot, for that would interfere with the plan of happiness. And so there is in us a God-given desire to be responsible for our own choices.
My misfortune is doubly painful to me because it will result in my being misunderstood. For me there can be no recreation in the company of others, no intelligent conversation, no exchange of information with peers; only the most pressing needs can make me venture into society. I am obliged to live like an outcast.
I don't believe we have a professional self from Mondays through Fridays and a real self for the rest of the time.
You never hear about a pit bull doing anything good in the media. And they have a stigma to them... and, in many ways, pit bulls are like young African-American males. Whenever you see us in the news, it's for getting shot and killed or shooting and killing somebody - for being a stereotype.
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