The actual sight of a first-class house that a Negro has built is ten times more potent than pages of discussion about a house that he ought to build, or perhaps could build.
Booker T. WashingtonRead
No white American ever thinks that any other race is wholly civilized until he wears the white man’s clothes, eats the white man’s food, speaks the white man’s language, and professes the white man’s religion.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Cultural assimilation is often a prerequisite for acceptance in society.
This quote by Booker T. Washington highlights the deep-rooted biases in society that require individuals from other races to adopt the customs, behaviors, and beliefs of the dominant white culture to be seen as civilized or acceptable. It points to the systemic nature of racism and the cultural barriers that minorities face in gaining societal acceptance.
Themes
RaceAssimilationCultureAcceptanceCivilization
In practice
Example use cases
In a diversity training session to discuss the impact of cultural expectations.
More from Booker T. Washington
All quotes →Leaders have devoted themselves to politics, little knowing, it seems _x000D_ that political independence disappears without economic independence _x000D_ that economic independence is the foundation of political independence.
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You go to school, you study about the Germans and the French, but not about your own race. I hope the time will come when you study black history too.
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Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.
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I shall allow no man to belittle my soul by making me hate him.
Booker T. WashingtonRead
If I have done anything in life worth attention, I feel sure that I inherited the disposition from my mother.
Booker T. WashingtonRead
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