6 Quotes by Michelle Alexander about race
- Author Michelle Alexander
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No issue has proved more vexing to this nation than the issue of race, and yet no question is more pressing than how to overcome the politics of white supremacy-a form of politics that not only led to an actual civil war but that threatens our ability ever to create a truly fair, just, and inclusive democracy. We find ourselves in this dangerous place not because something radically different has occurred in our nation's politics, but because so much has remained the same.
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- Author Michelle Alexander
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Colorblindness, though widely touted as the solution, is actually the problem.
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- Author Michelle Alexander
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In Waquant's words: "Racial division was a consequence, not a precondition of slavery, but once it was instituted it became detached from its initial function and acquired a social potency all its own." After the death of slavery, the idea of race lived on/
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- Author Michelle Alexander
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The notion of racial difference—specifically the notion of white supremacy—proved far more durable than the institution that gave birth to it.
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- Author Michelle Alexander
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There is no inconsistency whatsoever between the election of Barack Obama to the highest office in the land and the existence of a racial caste system in the era of colorblindness. The current system of control depends on black exceptionalism; it is not disproved or undermined by it.
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- Author Michelle Alexander
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A new race-neutral language was developed for appealing to old racist sentiments, a language accompanied by a political movement that succeeded in putting the vast majority of backs back in their place. Proponents of racial hierarchy found they could install a new racial caste system without violating the law or the new limits of acceptable political discourse, by demanding 'law and order' rather than 'segregation forever'.
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