There are two things that have always haunted me: the brutality of the European traders and the stories I've heard about Africans selling other Africans into slavery.
Henry Louis GatesRead
In fact, the class divide in the black community is now seen by some as a permanent aspect of our existence.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote addresses the ongoing class divide within the black community as a lasting issue.
Henry Louis Gates emphasizes that the class divide within the black community has become perceived as an enduring reality, suggesting that socio-economic disparities are deeply entrenched and possibly inevitable. This statement prompts reflection on systemic barriers and the challenges faced in bridging gaps that affect unity and progress within the community.
Themes
Class DivideBlack CommunitySocio-EconomicExistenceSystemic Barriers
In practice
Example use cases
During a community meeting to discuss social issues, one might use this quote to highlight the need for addressing class disparities.
More from Henry Louis Gates
All quotes βIt's not white versus black any more, it's haves versus have-nots. Unless the black middle-classes unite to promote the interests of the black underclass, tension between them is inevitable. What we, the black middle class have to do, is think of a strategy to avert that.
Henry Louis GatesRead
In America there is institutional racism that we all inherit and participate in, like breathing the air in this room - and we have to become sensitive to it.
Henry Louis GatesRead
The historical basis for the gap between the black middle class and underclass shows that ending discrimination, by itself, would not eradicate black poverty and dysfunction. We also need intervention to promulgate a middle-class ethic of success among the poor, while expanding opportunities for economic betterment.
Henry Louis GatesRead
The only people who live in a post-black world are four people who live in a little white house on Pennsylvania Avenue. The idea that America is post-racial or post-black because a man I admire, Barack Obama, is president of the United States, is a joke. And I hope no one will even wonder about this crazy fiction again.
Henry Louis GatesRead
Very few, if any, first-generation black or white or Asian kids will pursue a Ph.D. They'll pursue the professions for economic security. Many will go to law school and/or business school.
Henry Louis GatesRead
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