--- title: "3 Affirmative action Quotes By William Julius Wilson" description: "3 Affirmative action quotes by William Julius Wilson. Plus more from William Julius Wilson and more Affirmative action sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f6/william-julius-wilson-23478_action_if-you-re-going-to-compare-a-middle-inco_427523.jpg" --- > [If you're going to compare a middle-income black kid with a middle- income white kid, and, say, you control for family background,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-wilson/if-you-re-going-to-compare-a-middle-income-black-kid-with-a-middle/) [William Julius Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-julius-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f6/william-julius-wilson-23478_action_if-you-re-going-to-compare-a-middle-inco_427523.jpg) > [If we could create the conditions that make racism difficult, or discourage it, then there would be less stress and less need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-wilson/if-we-could-create-the-conditions-that-make-racism-difficult-or/) [William Julius Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-julius-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d2/william-julius-wilson-23478_action_if-we-could-create-the-conditions-that-m_1747647.png) > [Over the years, black leaders have been slow to recognize the need for a very, very progressive agenda. Anytime someone has talked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-wilson/over-the-years-black-leaders-have-been-slow-to-recognize-the-need-for/) [William Julius Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-julius-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e2/william-julius-wilson-23478_action_over-the-years-black-leaders-have-been-s_1866504.png) ## Other authors on Affirmative action - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b022/author-sonia-sotomayor-86182.jpg) Sonia Sotomayor 10 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affirmative-action/sonia-sotomayor/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b007/author-cornel-west-25169.jpg) Cornel West 8 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affirmative-action/cornel-west/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b022/author-shelby-steele-84811.jpg) Shelby Steele 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affirmative-action/shelby-steele/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b017/author-michelle-alexander-67636.jpg) Michelle Alexander 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affirmative-action/michelle-alexander/) ## More by William Julius Wilson > [My research clearly reveals that if we want to put inner-city workers to work immediately, we just can't rely on the private sector. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-wilson/my-research-clearly-reveals-that-if-we-want-to-put-inner-city-workers/) [William Julius Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-julius-wilson/) > [If you're talking about the narrow issue of public assistance, I would like to see us move to a more healthy system. But until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-wilson/if-you-re-talking-about-the-narrow-issue-of-public-assistance-i-would/) [William Julius Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-julius-wilson/) > [The middle class has just fallen further and further behind the rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-wilson/the-middle-class-has-just-fallen-further-and-further-behind-the-rich/) [William Julius Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-julius-wilson/) > [If you're going to compare a middle-income black kid with a middle- income white kid, and, say, you control for family background, family education,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-wilson/if-you-re-going-to-compare-a-middle-income-black-kid-with-a-middle/) [William Julius Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-julius-wilson/) > [Prior to 1940, the affluent and the middle class began to converge, but after 1979, the economic gap between the middle class and affluent widened significantly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-wilson/prior-to-1940-the-affluent-and-the-middle-class-began-to-converge-but/) [William Julius Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-julius-wilson/) > [But the person who scored well on an SAT will not necessarily be the best doctor or the best lawyer or the best businessman.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-wilson/but-the-person-who-scored-well-on-an-sat-will-not-necessarily-be-the/) [William Julius Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-julius-wilson/) > [Black employers are just as negative as the white employers concerning inner-city workers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-wilson/black-employers-are-just-as-negative-as-the-white-employers/) [William Julius Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-julius-wilson/) > [I think it is difficult to achieve a meaningful political coalition if you have race-based programs that divide members of the coalition. The problem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-wilson/i-think-it-is-difficult-to-achieve-a-meaningful-political-coalition/) [William Julius Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-julius-wilson/) > [Unemployment is higher in Europe than in the United States and primarily concentrated in immigrant minority populations, so people are worried about what's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-wilson/unemployment-is-higher-in-europe-than-in-the-united-states-and/) [William Julius Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-julius-wilson/) > [A lot of joblessness in the black community doesn't seem to be reachable through fiscal and monetary policies. People have not been drawn into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-wilson/a-lot-of-joblessness-in-the-black-community-doesn-t-seem-to-be/) [William Julius Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-julius-wilson/) > [I don't think we should stop emphasizing race because I think, you know, race is still very, very important, and we have to recognize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-wilson/i-don-t-think-we-should-stop-emphasizing-race-because-i-think-you/) [William Julius Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-julius-wilson/) > [During the Great Depression, African Americans were faced with problems that were not unlike those experienced by the most disadvantaged groups in society. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-wilson/during-the-great-depression-african-americans-were-faced-with/) [William Julius Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-julius-wilson/) > [A lot of joblessness in the black community doesn't seem to be reachable through fiscal and monetary policies. People have not been drawn into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-wilson/a-lot-of-joblessness-in-the-black-community-doesn-t-seem-to-be-2/) [William Julius Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-julius-wilson/) > [Certain people are just saying, 'Look, I'm a businessperson and I have to run a business effectively and I want people who are going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-wilson/certain-people-are-just-saying-look-i-m-a-businessperson-and-i-have/) [William Julius Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-julius-wilson/) > [The worst thing we could do is impose time limits and then expect people to sink or swim once they move off welfare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-wilson/the-worst-thing-we-could-do-is-impose-time-limits-and-then-expect/) [William Julius Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-julius-wilson/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affirmative-action/william-julius-wilson/#itemlist", "name": "3 Affirmative action Quotes By William Julius Wilson", "numberOfItems": 3, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you're going to compare a middle-income black kid with a middle- income white kid, and, say, you control for family background, family education, and family income, and if this middle-income black kid doesn't score as well as the white kid on the test, then I say, look, you haven't taken into consideration the cumulative effect of living in a segregated neighborhood and going to a de facto segregated school. 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