Quotes About Race

Barack Obama's official nomination as the Democratic Party's standard-bearer was a very poignant moment for millions of Americans. As the first non-white major party nominee, Obama is carrying a big load on his shoulders. He's holding the hopes and dreams of a lot of folks who thought the presidency was only reserved for white men.

I have spent years studying what it means to be white in a society that proclaims race meaningless, yet is deeply divided by race.

I don't think any of us that are white can ever fully understand what it's like to be a black person in America today.

It's a significant question: should black people only adopt black children, and white people white children?

Being white is a job in America. You take that away, you better get the soldiers out.

In a law enforcement situation, black people are not always treated the same as white people would be.

You don't hear that much about me being a white and singing soul music in England, but I get the feeling that in America it's really a big thing. It's like, 'God, look at the color of her skin.'

We say Black lives matter, but a lot of white folks don't know Black folk.

I wasn't cocky, just confident; I went to an all black school, a white kid.

White folks, no matter how well-meaning or open-minded, have no true idea what it's like to be black in America. That's not a slam against white people or an accusation of latent bigotry. But the fact is that we all live in an Anglo-dominated society.

Segregation was wrong when it was forced by white people, and I believe it is still wrong when it is requested by black people.

The behavior of the crowd at Churchill Downs is like 100,000 vicious Hyenas going berserk all at once in a space about the size of a 777 jet or the White House lawn.

Some people in this nation believe that race is a significant factor in the constant attacks against President Obama. Others believe that these attacks reflect only the normal level of criticism aimed at the occupant of the White House.

'The Butler' has virtually nothing in common with its source material, the life of White House butler Gene Allen, except for the fact that the main character of the film and Allen were both black butlers in the White House.

I think that many black people thought this would be a wonderful and extraordinary thing, for a black family to occupy the White House. Not only black people; a lot of white people thought that, too, but particularly black people.

My experience and research has led me to the regrettable conclusion that our system of mass incarceration functions more like a caste system than a system of crime prevention or control.

A nobler example, because a less personal one, of the pinch of poverty, is when it prevents the accomplishment of some cherished scheme for the benefit of the human race.

It was the Michael Jordan/Nike phenomenon that really let people see that athletes were OK, and black athletes were OK. Defying a previous wisdom - not only that black athletes wouldn't sell in white America, but that the NBA as a predominantly black sport could not sell in white America.

Apple makes really good products, and Samsung makes really good products. It's really a two-horse race. Where I think Apple is exposed: the price points of Apple's products are just so high by comparison with Samsung's.

'Black' is an adjective, in my book, and the way I use it, sometimes I'll say 'black people.' But if I'm talking about a person, I'm going to say 'a Negro,' because I was taught to say that, and I don't see any reason to change it. I don't think that gives pride or anything else. I don't think you get pride by calling yourself this or that.

I always say, no matter what happens to me as a black man in country music, I can handle it if Charley Pride could handle all the stuff he went through.

So the Negro race has continued, and today is the day of the Negro as far as the world is concerned. They have influenced the generations of time; they have mixed their blood with many peoples, until there are many peoples not able to hold the priesthood.

But I think primarily, it's the fans that make this race.

If Barack Obama now, or some black person in the future, should become president, neither Jesse Jackson nor Al Sharpton would be out of a job. A black president can't end black misery; a black president can't be a civil rights leader or primarily a crusader for racial justice.