---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think Africans are very much like white…"
description: "\"“I think Africans are very much like white people back home, in that they think they are the center of the universe and that everything that is done is..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca6/alice-walker-347_africans_i-think-africans-are-very-much-like-whit_618021.png"
---

#  I think Africans are very much like white people back…

![“I think Africans are very much like white people back home, in that they think they are the center of the universe and that everything that is done is done for them.” quote by Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca6/alice-walker-347_africans_i-think-africans-are-very-much-like-whit_618021.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca6/alice-walker-347_africans_i-think-africans-are-very-much-like-whit_618021.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca6/alice-walker-347_africans_i-think-africans-are-very-much-like-whit_618021.png)

> ““I think Africans are very much like white people back home, in that they think they are the center of the universe and that everything that is done is done for them.””

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A sweeping generalization that equates African perspectives with Western egocentrism, reflecting bias and oversimplification.

**In simple terms:** Stereotyped view of Africans.

Key Takeaway

Avoid broad stereotypes.

Themes

racism stereotype identity

Mood

critical reflective

Type

social educational

When to use this quote

- media representation
- education
- cross‑cultural dialogue

Key Concepts

cultural bias anthropology

Questions to Reflect On

- What harms arise from such stereotypes?
- How can nuanced understanding be promoted?

A Different Perspective

Oversimplifies complex identities.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Africans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/africans/) [Center of the universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/center-of-the-universe/) [White people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-people/)

## Related quotes

> [I feel like Americans don't really have any idea of what's going on in the world, especially us Africans. I feel like when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-embiid/i-feel-like-americans-don-t-really-have-any-idea-of-what-s-going-on/)

[Joel Embiid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-embiid/)

> [Where do whites fit in the New Africa? Nowhere, I'm inclined to sayand I do believe that it is true that even the gentlest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/where-do-whites-fit-in-the-new-africa-nowhere-i-m-inclined-to-sayand/)

[Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/)

> [I am a black man inside and outside and you are white men on the outside, but inside, you are Africans like me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olusegun-obasanjo/i-am-a-black-man-inside-and-outside-and-you-are-white-men-on-the/)

[Olusegun Obasanjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olusegun-obasanjo/)

> [Where do whites fit in the New Africa? Nowhere, I'm inclined to say ... and I do believe that it is true that eventhe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/where-do-whites-fit-in-the-new-africa-nowhere-i-m-inclined-to-say-and/)

[Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/)

> [“The gap that was created during those transatlantic voyages hundreds of years ago. That gap is the matrix of Saudade – The Longing, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-greer/the-gap-that-was-created-during-those-transatlantic-voyages-hundreds/)

[Bonnie Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-greer/)

> [I had to look at white people as fellow South Africans and fellow partners in building a new South Africa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kani/i-had-to-look-at-white-people-as-fellow-south-africans-and-fellow/)

[John Kani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kani/)

> [What are the style rules? Like no white after Labor Day? Maybe I've broken that one a few times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hill/what-are-the-style-rules-like-no-white-after-labor-day-maybe-i-ve/)

[Taylor Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hill/)

> [I love being famous. It's almost like being white.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/i-love-being-famous-it-s-almost-like-being-white/)

[Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/)

> [A stranger in town is like a white dog, he gets noticed immedeatly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/african-proverb/a-stranger-in-town-is-like-a-white-dog-he-gets-noticed-immedeatly/)

African Proverb

> [I'm sort of East Coast, so I like the off-white and the navy blues and the low-key preppy kind of thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-courtney/i-m-sort-of-east-coast-so-i-like-the-off-white-and-the-navy-blues-and/)

[Stephanie Courtney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-courtney/)

> [I realized there was racism because people thought, 'Oh, if you like roll 'n' roll, that makes you like a white kid.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-latifah/i-realized-there-was-racism-because-people-thought-oh-if-you-like/)

[Queen Latifah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-latifah/)

> [I like simple styles like a white t-shirt and jeans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seo-yea-ji/i-like-simple-styles-like-a-white-t-shirt-and-jeans/)

Seo Yea-ji

> [Yes, of course. I was on her like, um... I believe that old woman last week we took after she'd burnt down her house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/yes-of-course-i-was-on-her-like-um-i-believe-that-old-woman-last-week/)

[Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/)

> [Sure, I look like a white man. But my heart is as black as anyone's here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wallace/sure-i-look-like-a-white-man-but-my-heart-is-as-black-as-anyone-s-here/)

[George C. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wallace/)

> [Justin Bieber is like the white Tupac. Compared to a lot of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-wahlberg/justin-bieber-is-like-the-white-tupac-compared-to-a-lot-of-people/)

[Mark Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-wahlberg/)

## More by Alice Walker

> [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

> [Just be what it is that you are, and that is just fine. You don't have to be what you're not in any way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/just-be-what-it-is-that-you-are-and-that-is-just-fine-you-don-t-have/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

> [“Remember this-- say it &amp; know it is true: Alice loves me Alice loves me and I am not blamed for this. ... she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/remember-this-say-it-know-it-is-true-alice-loves-me-alice-loves-me/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

> [“Only the sky above us do we hold in common.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/only-the-sky-above-us-do-we-hold-in-common/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

> [“Why aren't you happy in America, if everyone there drives motorcars?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/why-aren-t-you-happy-in-america-if-everyone-there-drives-motorcars/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

> [“She saw poetry where other writers merely saw failure to cope with English.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/she-saw-poetry-where-other-writers-merely-saw-failure-to-cope-with/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

> [My mother had handed down respect for the possibilities...and the will to grasp them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/my-mother-had-handed-down-respect-for-the-possibilities-and-the-will/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

> [Helped are those who are content to be themselves; they will never lack mystery in their lives and the joys of self-discovery will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/helped-are-those-who-are-content-to-be-themselves-they-will-never/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

> [“As others might prepare for an exam whose subject matter is unknown to them, so I must study, cram, for every conversation with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/as-others-might-prepare-for-an-exam-whose-subject-matter-is-unknown/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

> [The original crime of niggers and lesbians is that they prefer themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/the-original-crime-of-niggers-and-lesbians-is-that-they-prefer/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

> [My mother was very strong. Once, she picked up a coconut and smashed it against my father's head. It taught me about women defending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/my-mother-was-very-strong-once-she-picked-up-a-coconut-and-smashed-it/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

> [Many readers fail to realize this, but 'The Color Purple' is a theological text. It is about the reclamation of one's original God: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/many-readers-fail-to-realize-this-but-the-color-purple-is-a/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

> [The good news may be that Nature is phasing out the white man, but the bad news is that's who She thinks we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/the-good-news-may-be-that-nature-is-phasing-out-the-white-man-but-the/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

> [Humans - whatever billions we are - we don't have the control. We are considered expendable, basically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/humans-whatever-billions-we-are-we-don-t-have-the-control-we-are/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

> [All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my uncles. I had to fight my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/all-my-life-i-had-to-fight-i-had-to-fight-my-daddy-i-had-to-fight-my/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

[Explore all 654 Alice Walker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

## More Africans quotes

> [“Acknowledging that my skin was, in fact, Cocoa as it is, would have destroyed their narrative about who I really was. Therefore they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitta-xinindlu/acknowledging-that-my-skin-was-in-fact-cocoa-as-it-is-would-have/)

[Mitta Xinindlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitta-xinindlu/)

> [Africa for the Africans... at home and abroad!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-garvey/africa-for-the-africans-at-home-and-abroad/)

[Marcus Garvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-garvey/)

> [Tourists who go to Africa have more of a traditional experience than Africans do. A tourist goes on safari; Africans don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/tourists-who-go-to-africa-have-more-of-a-traditional-experience-than/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [“Alexa, and the other guests, and perhaps even Georgina, all understood the fleeing from war, from the kind of poverty that crushed human souls,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/alexa-and-the-other-guests-and-perhaps-even-georgina-all-understood/)

[Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/)

> [As Africans, we need to share common recognition that all of us stand to lose if we fail to transform our continent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/as-africans-we-need-to-share-common-recognition-that-all-of-us-stand/)

[Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/)

> [Cuba forces in Angola gave a real shot in the arm to the liberation movements, and it also was a lesson to the white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/cuba-forces-in-angola-gave-a-real-shot-in-the-arm-to-the-liberation/)

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

> [Africa doesn't look like it's changed that much to me since I first went in '94. There is still a major economic divide, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goapele/africa-doesn-t-look-like-it-s-changed-that-much-to-me-since-i-first/)

[Goapele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goapele/)

> [“It is a tragedy, at rate at which EBOLA VIRUS is spreading in West Africa. It is a fatal disease in the history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/it-is-a-tragedy-at-rate-at-which-ebola-virus-is-spreading-in-west/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [An awareness of our past is essential to the establishment of our personality and our identity as Africans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haile-selassie/an-awareness-of-our-past-is-essential-to-the-establishment-of-our/)

[Haile Selassie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haile-selassie/)

> [Africans are on the front lines of humanitarian efforts, distributing life-saving aid in dangerous environments. Africans comprise the vast majority of peacekeepers in civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-prendergast/africans-are-on-the-front-lines-of-humanitarian-efforts-distributing/)

[John Prendergast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-prendergast/)

> [Africans sensed in their hearts that Jesus did not mock their respect for the sacred or their clamor for an invincible Savior, so they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamin-sanneh/africans-sensed-in-their-hearts-that-jesus-did-not-mock-their-respect/)

Lamin Sanneh

> [To a lot of Africans, seeing an animal is a something of a rarity. So it's a paradox of this sort of parallel life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/to-a-lot-of-africans-seeing-an-animal-is-a-something-of-a-rarity-so/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [Africans believe in something that is difficult to render in English. We call it ubuntu, botho. It means the essence of being human. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/africans-believe-in-something-that-is-difficult-to-render-in-english/)

[Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/)

> [“Some people in orthodox churches in Africa take poverty as a path that leads to heaven, making christianity look unattractive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/some-people-in-orthodox-churches-in-africa-take-poverty-as-a-path/)

[Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/)

> [“It takes no more research than a trip to almost any public library or college to show the incredibly lopsided coverage of slavery in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/it-takes-no-more-research-than-a-trip-to-almost-any-public-library-or/)

[Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/)

[Browse all 177 Africans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/africans/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I think Africans are very much like white people back home, in that they think they are the center of the universe and that everything that is done is done for them.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Alice Walker"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-think-africans-are-very-much-like-white-people-back-home-in-that/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Africans"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-think-africans-are-very-much-like-white-people-back-home-in-that/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca6/alice-walker-347_africans_i-think-africans-are-very-much-like-whit_618021.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca6/alice-walker-347_africans_i-think-africans-are-very-much-like-whit_618021.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca6/alice-walker-347_africans_i-think-africans-are-very-much-like-whit_618021.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I think Africans are very much like white people back home, in that they think they are the center of the…” — Alice Walker",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Alice Walker",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I think Africans are very much...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-think-africans-are-very-much-like-white-people-back-home-in-that/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-think-africans-are-very-much-like-white-people-back-home-in-that/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
