---
title: "23 Black Life Quotes by 20 authors"
description: "Browse 23 Black Life quotes by 20 authors. Discover the best Black Life sayings and thoughts."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/069/patrisse-cullors-5946_fight_we-need-to-fight-for-a-new-human-rights_518341.jpg"
---

> [We need to fight for a new human rights movement that recognizes and values black life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrisse-cullors/we-need-to-fight-for-a-new-human-rights-movement-that-recognizes-and/)

[Patrisse Cullors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrisse-cullors/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/069/patrisse-cullors-5946_fight_we-need-to-fight-for-a-new-human-rights_518341.jpg)

> [It's hypocritical to say Black Lives Matter' when we know Black life begins in the womb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-stanton-king/it-s-hypocritical-to-say-black-lives-matter-when-we-know-black-life/)

[Angela Stanton-King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-stanton-king/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81c/angela-stanton-king-14394_black_it-s-hypocritical-to-say-black-lives-mat_650665.jpg)

> [I'm black. I've been black all my life, and as far as I know, I'll die black.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-gillum/i-m-black-i-ve-been-black-all-my-life-and-as-far-as-i-know-i-ll-die/)

[Andrew Gillum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-gillum/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06c/andrew-gillum-13539_black_i-m-black-i-ve-been-black-all-my-life-an_271972.jpg)

> [“chibok. (the immutable measure of black life.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nayyirah-waheed/chibok-the-immutable-measure-of-black-life/)

[Nayyirah Waheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nayyirah-waheed/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/352/nayyirah-waheed-8336_life_chibok-the-immutable-measure-of-black-li_1293885.jpg)

> [Black Lives Matter is not just concerned with what happens in policing. The disregard, the disrespect, and the lack of dignity for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-garza/black-lives-matter-is-not-just-concerned-with-what-happens-in/)

[Alicia Garza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-garza/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/alicia-garza-8065_black-lives_black-lives-matter-is-not-just-concerned_3140636.jpg)

> [What's 'Atlanta' about? Technically, it's about a couple guys who are friends, but to me, 'Atlanta' is about black lives. I'm getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-waithe/what-s-atlanta-about-technically-it-s-about-a-couple-guys-who-are/)

[Lena Waithe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-waithe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/lena-waithe-4351_atlanta_what-s-atlanta-about-technically-it-s-ab_3063900.jpg)

> [There's no idea in the world that is not contained by black life. I could write forever about the black experience in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/there-s-no-idea-in-the-world-that-is-not-contained-by-black-life-i/)

[August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d7/august-wilson-3646_america_there-s-no-idea-in-the-world-that-is-not_266078.png)

> [I can't stop thinking about the devaluation of black life, and I find it seeping into everything I write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-can-t-stop-thinking-about-the-devaluation-of-black-life-and-i-find/)

[Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec1/jesmyn-ward-1426_everything_i-can-t-stop-thinking-about-the-devaluat_2752505.png)

> [I don't trust white critics' judgment about most things that deal with black life, particularly when a black person is the creator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/i-don-t-trust-white-critics-judgment-about-most-things-that-deal-with/)

[Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43f/terry-mcmillan-7261_black_i-don-t-trust-white-critics-judgment-abo_1507291.jpg)

> [There's an audience and market for depictions of Black life that are as broad and as deep as any other depictions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cord-jefferson/there-s-an-audience-and-market-for-depictions-of-black-life-that-are/)

[Cord Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cord-jefferson/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/971/cord-jefferson-6009_audience_there-s-an-audience-and-market-for-depic_3219221.jpg)

> [We will not stop fighting until every single black life is provided the type of love and support we so desperately deserve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrisse-cullors/we-will-not-stop-fighting-until-every-single-black-life-is-provided/)

[Patrisse Cullors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrisse-cullors/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c1/patrisse-cullors-5946_deserve_we-will-not-stop-fighting-until-every-si_3189113.jpg)

> [All black art, post-slavery, has always tried to prove in its own way that a black life is the equivalent of anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheo-hodari-coker/all-black-art-post-slavery-has-always-tried-to-prove-in-its-own-way/)

[Cheo Hodari Coker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheo-hodari-coker/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b49/cheo-hodari-coker-4014_always_all-black-art-post-slavery-has-always-tr_1688196.jpg)

> [In the Shadow of Slavery covers two and a half centuries of black life in New York City, and skillfully interweaves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/in-the-shadow-of-slavery-covers-two-and-a-half-centuries-of-black/)

[Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a43/eric-foner-20891_affected_in-the-shadow-of-slavery-covers-two-and_2287751.jpg)

> [We recriminalized black life. Incarceration rates since the 1908s have gone through the roof, overwhelmingly black males, women and Hispanics to some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/we-recriminalized-black-life-incarceration-rates-since-the-1908s-have/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/487/noam-chomsky-42_african-american_we-recriminalized-black-life-incarcerati_2283431.jpg)

> [The criminalization of Black life was something specific to the United States in the post-Reconstruction period and there's something like it happening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-criminalization-of-black-life-was-something-specific-to-the/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cba/noam-chomsky-42_black_the-criminalization-of-black-life-was-so_1147794.jpg)

> [Black life is ambiguous, and a kaleidoscope of meanings, rich, multi-sided . . . we have frozen our vision in figures that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bartlett-johnson/black-life-is-ambiguous-and-a-kaleidoscope-of-meanings-rich-multi/)

[Charles Bartlett Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bartlett-johnson/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b85/charles-bartlett-johnson-60392_ambiguous_black-life-is-ambiguous-and-a-kaleidosco_3209957.jpg)

> [Far from ending, systemic racism reinvents itself to conform to what is publically acceptable, leaving the quality of black life diminished and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/far-from-ending-systemic-racism-reinvents-itself-to-conform-to-what/)

[Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/opal-tometi-9098_ending_far-from-ending-systemic-racism-reinvent_220358.jpg)

> [If you are born black, it is better to be born now than in any other time in United States history. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-banks/if-you-are-born-black-it-is-better-to-be-born-now-than-in-any-other/)

[Russell Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-banks/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/russell-banks-7660_black_if-you-are-born-black-it-is-better-to-be_3080905.jpg)

> [If black lives matter, then why is it that black women are more than five times as likely as a white woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alveda-king/if-black-lives-matter-then-why-is-it-that-black-women-are-more-than/)

[Alveda King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alveda-king/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84e/alveda-king-7996_abortion_if-black-lives-matter-then-why-is-it-tha_2484057.png)

> [“So what are you supposed to do? My friends, what I need you to do—just for starters—is not act. Not yet. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/so-what-are-you-supposed-to-do-my-friends-what-i-need-you-to-do-just/)

[Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdd/michael-eric-dyson-1424_life_so-what-are-you-supposed-to-do-my-friend_1517111.jpg)

> [“A shift in class values occurs in black life when integration comes and with it the idea that money is the primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/a-shift-in-class-values-occurs-in-black-life-when-integration-comes/)

[bell hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48e/bell-hooks-464_individual-success_a-shift-in-class-values-occurs-in-black_2347687.jpg)

> [“I asked another friend what it's like being the mother of a black son. "The condition of black life is one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-rankine/i-asked-another-friend-what-it-s-like-being-the-mother-of-a-black-son/)

[Claudia Rankine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-rankine/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f3/claudia-rankine-10349_african-americans_i-asked-another-friend-what-it-s-like-be_865887.jpg)

> [“Beloved, to be white is to know that you have at your own hand, or by extension, through institutionalized means, the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/beloved-to-be-white-is-to-know-that-you-have-at-your-own-hand-or-by/)

[Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/277/michael-eric-dyson-1424_black-lives-matter_beloved-to-be-white-is-to-know-that-you_293593.jpg)

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                        "text": "I don't trust white critics' judgment about most things that deal with black life, particularly when a black person is the creator.",
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                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Terry McMillan"
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                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "There's an audience and market for depictions of Black life that are as broad and as deep as any other depictions of people's lives.",
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                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Cord Jefferson"
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                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "We will not stop fighting until every single black life is provided the type of love and support we so desperately deserve.",
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                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Patrisse Cullors"
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                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "All black art, post-slavery, has always tried to prove in its own way that a black life is the equivalent of anyone else's.",
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                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Cheo Hodari Coker"
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                        "text": "In the Shadow of Slavery covers two and a half centuries of black life in New York City, and skillfully interweaves the categories of race and class as they affected the formation of African American identity. Leslie Harris has made a major contribution to our understanding of the black experience.",
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                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Eric Foner"
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                        "text": "We recriminalized black life. Incarceration rates since the 1908s have gone through the roof, overwhelmingly black males, women and Hispanics to some extent. Essentially re-doing what happened under Reconstruction. That's the history of African Americans - so how can any one say there's no problem. Sure, racism is serious, but it's worse than that.",
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                            "name": "Noam Chomsky"
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                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The criminalization of Black life was something specific to the United States in the post-Reconstruction period and there's something like it happening today with mass incarceration, directed largely against black males.",
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                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Noam Chomsky"
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                            "caption": "“The criminalization of Black life was something specific to the United States in the post-Reconstruction…” — Noam Chomsky",
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                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Black life is ambiguous, and a kaleidoscope of meanings, rich, multi-sided . . . we have frozen our vision in figures that caricature, at best the complexity of our lives and leave the real artistic chore of interpretation unfinished.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Charles Bartlett Johnson"
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                            "caption": "“Black life is ambiguous, and a kaleidoscope of meanings, rich, multi-sided . . . we have frozen our vision…” — Charles Bartlett Johnson",
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                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Far from ending, systemic racism reinvents itself to conform to what is publically acceptable, leaving the quality of black life diminished and more permanently fixed with each passing decade.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Opal Tometi"
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                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "If you are born black, it is better to be born now than in any other time in United States history. My grandson is black. His life is a different life than if he had been born when I was born.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Russell Banks"
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                            "caption": "“If you are born black, it is better to be born now than in any other time in United States history. My…” — Russell Banks",
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                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "If black lives matter, then why is it that black women are more than five times as likely as a white woman to have an abortion? I think the womb that brings forth the black life should matter... Because black lives absolutely matter, what about the babies in that womb? What about that mama?",
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                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Alveda King"
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                            "caption": "“If black lives matter, then why is it that black women are more than five times as likely as a white woman…” — Alveda King",
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                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“So what are you supposed to do? My friends, what I need you to do—just for starters—is not act. Not yet. Not first. First I need you to see. I need you to see the pains and possibilities of black life, its virtues and vices, its strengths and weaknesses, its yeses and nos. I need you to see how the cantankerous varieties of black identity have been distorted by seeing black folk collectively as the nigger. It is not a question of simply not saying nigger; you have to stop believing, no matter what, that black folk are niggers and all the term represents. Instead you must swim in the vast ocean of blackness and then realize you have been buoyed all along on its sustaining views of democracy.”",
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                            "caption": "“So what are you supposed to do? My friends, what I need you to do—just for starters—is not act. Not yet. Not…” — Michael Eric Dyson",
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                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“A shift in class values occurs in black life when integration comes and with it the idea that money is the primary marker of individual success, not how one acquires money. Adopting that worldview changed the dynamics of work in black communities. Black men who could show they had money (no matter how they acquired it) could be among the powerful. It was this thinking that allowed hustlers in black communities to be seen as just as hardworking as their Wall Street counterparts.”",
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                            "name": "bell hooks"
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                        "text": "“I asked another friend what it's like being the mother of a black son. \"The condition of black life is one of mourning,\" she said bluntly. For her, mourning lived in real time inside her and her son's reality. At any moment she might lose her reason for living. Though the white liberal imagination likes to feel temporarily bad about black suffering, there really is no mode of empathy that can replicate the daily strain of knowing that as a black person you can be killed for simply being black: no hands in your pockets, no playing music, no sudden movements, no driving your car, no walking at night, no walking in the day, no turning onto this street, no entering this building, no standing your ground, no standing here, no standing there, no talking back, no playing with toy guns, no living while black.”",
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                            "caption": "“I asked another friend what it's like being the mother of a black son. \"The condition of black life is one…” — Claudia Rankine",
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                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“Beloved, to be white is to know that you have at your own hand, or by extension, through institutionalized means, the power to take black life with impunity. It’s the power of life and death that gives whiteness its force, its imperative. White life is worth more than black life. This is why the cry “Black Lives Matter” angers you so greatly, why it is utterly offensive and effortlessly revolutionary. It takes aim at white innocence and insists on uncovering the lie of its neutrality, its naturalness, its normalcy, its normativity. The most radical action a white person can take is to acknowledge this denied privilege, to say, “Yes, you’re right. In our institutional structures, and in deep psychological structures, our underlying assumption is that our lives are worth more than yours.” But that is a tough thing for most of you to do.”",
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