To be white in America is to have the confidence to say, without a second thought: this space, this neighborhood, this city, this county, this country is mine.
Joy ReidRead
Freedom is neither guaranteed nor automatic; not even in the United States. Left unguarded, it can slip away like a thief in the night.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Freedom must be actively protected; it is not a given.
This quote by Joy Reid emphasizes that freedom is not an inherent condition or a guaranteed right, even in nations that value it highly, like the United States. It warns that if not actively defended and maintained, freedom can disappear unexpectedly and without warning, much like a thief stealing in the shadows.
Themes
FreedomVigilanceRightsProtectionLiberty
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on civil rights, one might say this quote to emphasize the importance of protecting freedoms.
More from Joy Reid
All quotes βThe work of anti-racism can only take place inside each individual soul, where we all try to grow into better people. There is no national tonic or instant cure.
Joy ReidRead
To be white in America is to assume, with total self-confidence and little afterthought, the personal ownership of public spaces.
Joy ReidRead
There is a twinge of abandonment that comes with being a member of the African Diaspora. But 'Black Panther' fearlessly introduces and then complicates this and other deeply held albeit rarely expressed emotions; that indeed is what makes this film so profoundly innovative.
Joy ReidRead
For millions of Americans who happen to be black or brown, that core bond of trust with the government that governs closest to you, is too often broken.
Joy ReidRead
Similar quotes
I'll tell you what freedom is to me: no fear. I mean really, no fear!
Nina SimoneRead
Those who created this country chose freedom. With all of its dangers. And do you know the riskiest part of that choice they made? They actually believed that we could be trusted to make up our own minds in the whirl of differing ideas. That we could be trusted to remain free, even when there were very, very seductive voices - taking advantage of our freedom of speech - who were trying to turn this country into the kind of place where the government could tell you what you can and cannot do.
Nat HentoffRead
Freedom is always just one generation away from extinction. We don't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. We have to fight for it and protect it and then hand it to them, so that they shall do the same, or we're going to find ourselves spending our sunset years telling our children and our children's children, about a time in America, back in the day, when men and women were free.
Ronald ReaganRead
It's important to me that I should be free to express myself.
George MichaelRead
I would rather drudge out my life on a cotton plantation, till the grave opened to give me rest, than to live with an unprincipled master and a jealous mistress.
Harriet Ann JacobsRead
If we look to the answer as to why for so many years we achieved so much, prospered as no other people on earth, it was because here in this land we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before. Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on earth. The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price.
Ronald ReaganRead