I am not afraid of being sued by white businessmen. In fact, I should welcome such a law suit.
Carter G. WoodsonRead
The oppressor has always indoctrinated the weak with his interpretation of the crimes of the strong.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights how those in power manipulate narratives to control the perceptions of the vulnerable.
Carter G. Woodson’s quote reflects the idea that oppressors often shape the beliefs and understandings of those they dominate, persuading the weaker individuals to accept a skewed perspective on the actions of the powerful. This manipulation serves to reinforce the oppressors' control, as the weak may internalize these interpretations and feel disempowered or misled about their own circumstances and the nature of their oppression.
Themes
OppressionIndoctrinationPowerNarrativePerception
In practice
Example use cases
A speech on social justice addressing how narratives shape societal perceptions.
More from Carter G. Woodson
All quotes →If Liberia has failed, then, it is no evidence of the failure of the Negro in government. It is merely evidence of the failure of slavery.
Carter G. WoodsonRead
If the Negroes are to remain forever removed from the producing atmosphere, and the present discrimination continues, there will be nothing left for them to do.
Carter G. WoodsonRead
Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.
Carter G. WoodsonRead
The different ness of races, moreover, is no evidence of superiority or of inferiority. This merely indicates that each race has certain gifts which the others do not possess.
Carter G. WoodsonRead
This assumption of Negro leadership in the ghetto, then, must not be confined to matters of religion, education, and social uplift; it must deal with such fundamental forces in life as make these things possible.
Carter G. WoodsonRead
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