--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Brown people wouldn't speak to someone…" description: "\"Brown people wouldn't speak to someone who was black.\" — Alex Haley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/alex-haley-8212_black_brown-people-wouldn-t-speak-to-someone-w_3204043.jpg" --- # Brown people wouldn't speak to someone who was black. ![“Brown people wouldn't speak to someone who was black.” quote by Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/alex-haley-8212_black_brown-people-wouldn-t-speak-to-someone-w_3204043.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/alex-haley-8212_black_brown-people-wouldn-t-speak-to-someone-w_3204043.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/alex-haley-8212_black_brown-people-wouldn-t-speak-to-someone-w_3204043.jpg) > “Brown people wouldn't speak to someone who was black.” [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He makes a sweeping, inaccurate claim about communication preferences based on race. **In simple terms:** He suggests a racial group avoids speaking with another. Key Takeaway Avoid stereotypes; seek individual understanding. Themes race communication prejudice Mood critical concerned Type social commentary misconception When to use this quote - community outreach - diverse workplaces - public discourse Key Concepts social bias interpersonal dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports this claim? - How can we foster inclusive dialogue? A Different Perspective Statement is factually incorrect and harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brown/) [Brown People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brown-people-2182869/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Wouldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-wouldn/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Speak Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak-black-2577956/) [Wouldn Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wouldn-speak-1555773/) ## Related quotes > [If women ran the world, there wouldn't be any wars, but there would be entire nations that wouldn't speak to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/if-women-ran-the-world-there-wouldn-t-be-any-wars-but-there-would-be/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“There was no chance that these three were going to prepare at all before they took the stage. In fact there was a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-pullman/there-was-no-chance-that-these-three-were-going-to-prepare-at-all/) [Peter Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-pullman/) > [“She said she'd have spoken years ago, only she thought I wouldn't. And I never spoke to her because I was sure she wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/she-said-she-d-have-spoken-years-ago-only-she-thought-i-wouldn-t-and/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [Dreiser... I love... and almost wouldn't speak to anyone who ever attacked him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-young/dreiser-i-love-and-almost-wouldn-t-speak-to-anyone-who-ever-attacked/) [Marguerite Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-young/) > [There's no book or play or series or anything that speaks to everyone, because then it wouldn't speak to anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/there-s-no-book-or-play-or-series-or-anything-that-speaks-to-everyone/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [Where are Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton? They don't speak for Black America, and they don't speak for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-glenn/where-are-jesse-jackson-and-rev-al-sharpton-they-don-t-speak-for/) [Darryl Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-glenn/) > [to speak as black, female, and commercial lawyer has rendered me simultaneously universal, trendy, and marginal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-j-williams/to-speak-as-black-female-and-commercial-lawyer-has-rendered-me/) [Patricia J. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-j-williams/) > [I think we need to not speak over black women, not assign them labels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-williams/i-think-we-need-to-not-speak-over-black-women-not-assign-them-labels/) [Jessica Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-williams/) > [I think, as a white person, I do not want to speak for a black person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/i-think-as-a-white-person-i-do-not-want-to-speak-for-a-black-person/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [White people must speak out against black racism, no matter where it rears its ugly head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-lee-peterson/white-people-must-speak-out-against-black-racism-no-matter-where-it/) [Jesse Lee Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-lee-peterson/) > [“I speak to the Black experience, but I am always talking about the human condition--about what we can endure, dream, fail at and survive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-speak-to-the-black-experience-but-i-am-always-talking-about-the-2/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I speak to the black experience, but I am always talking about the human condition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-speak-to-the-black-experience-but-i-am-always-talking-about-the/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I love that brown people are being more and more represented on screen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-ablack/i-love-that-brown-people-are-being-more-and-more-represented-on-screen/) [Raymond Ablack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-ablack/) > [“Brown people rarely explain how anyone is related to anyone. You’re simply told that these people are your family and to treat them as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scaachi-koul/brown-people-rarely-explain-how-anyone-is-related-to-anyone-you-re/) [Scaachi Koul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scaachi-koul/) > [When I was growing up, I only saw really brown people on 'The Cosby Show,' and they were rich, and their parents were doctors.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/india-arie/when-i-was-growing-up-i-only-saw-really-brown-people-on-the-cosby/) [India Arie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/india-arie/) ## More by Alex Haley > [I tell younger writers that indeed it is devastating to be rejected. You feel like the bottom dropped out of your world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/i-tell-younger-writers-that-indeed-it-is-devastating-to-be-rejected/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [If you're blessed to do something like 'Roots'... you find yourself immersed. You're asked to do this, to do that - all for admirable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/if-you-re-blessed-to-do-something-like-roots-you-find-yourself/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [I think from what I personally know, I am really quite proud of most of the people I know who have 'made it,' who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/i-think-from-what-i-personally-know-i-am-really-quite-proud-of-most/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [In the bush, trust no one you don't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/in-the-bush-trust-no-one-you-don-t-know/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [Either you deal with what is the reality, or you can be sure that the reality is going to deal with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/either-you-deal-with-what-is-the-reality-or-you-can-be-sure-that-the/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [I know Juffure was a British trading post and my portrait of the village bears no resemblance to the way it was. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/i-know-juffure-was-a-british-trading-post-and-my-portrait-of-the/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [I look at my books the way parents look at their children. The fact that one becomes more successful than the others doesn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/i-look-at-my-books-the-way-parents-look-at-their-children-the-fact/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [Never completely encircle your enemy. Leave him some escape, for he will fight even more desperately if trapped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/never-completely-encircle-your-enemy-leave-him-some-escape-for-he/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [I can't feel Irish to save my soul, but it's a fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/i-can-t-feel-irish-to-save-my-soul-but-it-s-a-fact/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [Most of the people I've met who are black in other countries look up to the blacks in this country. Though they may talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/most-of-the-people-i-ve-met-who-are-black-in-other-countries-look-up/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [Early in the spring of 1750, in the village of Juffure, four days upriver from the coast of The Gambia, West Africa, a manchild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/early-in-the-spring-of-1750-in-the-village-of-juffure-four-days/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [“nightly boiling and then cooling a broth of freshly pounded fudano leaves in which she soaked her feat -and the pale palms of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/nightly-boiling-and-then-cooling-a-broth-of-freshly-pounded-fudano/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage, to know who we are and where we came from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/in-all-of-us-there-is-a-hunger-marrow-deep-to-know-our-heritage-to/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [If you think about it, there's not a religious group, there's not a nationalistic group, there's not a tribe, there is no grouping of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/if-you-think-about-it-there-s-not-a-religious-group-there-s-not-a/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [Is this how you repay my goodness--with badness?” cried the boy. “Of course,” said the crocodile out of the corner of his mouth. “That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/is-this-how-you-repay-my-goodness-with-badness-cried-the-boy-of/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) [Explore all 83 Alex Haley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) ## More Black quotes > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [How can you be more subject; black woman in a white man's world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/how-can-you-be-more-subject-black-woman-in-a-white-man-s-world/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) [Frank B. 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I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. 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