I'm a human being I'm not a piece of property. I am not a consignment of goods.
And I'd be lying if I told you that as a black man in baseball I hadn't gone through worse times than my teammates.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the struggles faced by Curt Flood as a Black man in baseball, highlighting the racial challenges and discrimination he encountered compared to his teammates.
Curt Flood's statement candidly addresses the unique adversities he experienced as a Black man in the sport of baseball. He acknowledges not only the challenges faced by all his teammates but emphasizes that his struggles were compounded by racial discrimination, revealing the systemic issues within the sporting world and society at large. This honesty sheds light on the broader conversation about race, equity, and the historical context of Black athletes in professional sports.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about equality in sports, one might reference Curt Flood's quote to discuss the importance of representation.
More from Curt Flood
All quotes βA well-paid slave is nonetheless a slave.
Similar quotes
I'm always fearful. β¦ Fear generates in you a huge energy. You can use it. When I feel that mounting fear, I think, 'Oh, yes, there it is!' It's like petrol.
You should always be prepared to win. But as much as I tell myself that, I've accepted another kind of role. Racism undercuts expectation, something like that. I'm not saying that to excuse myself from anything, but I've lived all this time, and things don't happen.
You will be faced, now, with pain of a magnitude that none of us here can comprehend because it is beyond our experience. The Receiver himself was not able to describe it, only to remind us that you would be faced with it, that you would need immense courage.
I don't like looking at myself. I have such bad body dysmorphia.
There's a burden of responsibility for me to show up correct - in my head, if I don't do it right, then I'll get shut out, and then other trans women of color will be shut out.
They did not submit to the obvious alternative, which was simply to close the eyes and fall. So easy, really. Go limp and tumble to the ground and let the muscles unwind and not speak and not budge until your buddies picked you up and lifted you into the chopper that would roar and dip its nose and carry you off to the world. A mere matter of falling, yet no one ever fell. It was not courage, exactly; the object was not valor. Rather, they were too frightened to be cowards.