--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We should not look down on our first…" description: "\"We should not look down on our first ancestors.\" — Alice Walker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/alice-walker-347_ancestors_we-should-not-look-down-on-our-first-anc_2367042.png" --- # We should not look down on our first ancestors. ![“We should not look down on our first ancestors.” quote by Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/alice-walker-347_ancestors_we-should-not-look-down-on-our-first-anc_2367042.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/alice-walker-347_ancestors_we-should-not-look-down-on-our-first-anc_2367042.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/alice-walker-347_ancestors_we-should-not-look-down-on-our-first-anc_2367042.png) > “We should not look down on our first ancestors.” [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. Advises respect for ancestors, urging humility and acknowledgment of origins. **In simple terms:** Respect our ancestors. Key Takeaway Honor past generations. Themes heritage humility respect history Mood respectful thoughtful Type reflective educational When to use this quote - family gatherings - education - rituals - memorials Key Concepts Ancestral reverence cultural identity Questions to Reflect On - How can we integrate ancestral wisdom today? - What practices honor our forebears? A Different Perspective Modern life may overlook ancestral lessons. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancestors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestors/) ## Related quotes > [What do you think happens after we die? We don't know. The establishment will say, 'Your neurons will stop firing. Your body will rot.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-hovland/what-do-you-think-happens-after-we-die-we-don-t-know-the/) [Viktor Hovland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-hovland/) > [Centuries from now our great-great-great-grandchildren will look back at us with amazement at how we could allow such a precious achievement of human culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/centuries-from-now-our-great-great-great-grandchildren-will-look-back/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [But what about you? Have you prayed about your own ancestors’ work? Set aside those things in your life that don’t really matter. Decide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-g-scott/but-what-about-you-have-you-prayed-about-your-own-ancestors-work-set/) [Richard G. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-g-scott/) > [My ancestors make up the skin of the world. That's who that is. That's what that is. That's us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/my-ancestors-make-up-the-skin-of-the-world-that-s-who-that-is-that-s/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [It is because I recognize the brutality with which my own multi-branched ancestors have been treated that I can identify the despicable, lawless, cruel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/it-is-because-i-recognize-the-brutality-with-which-my-own-multi/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [I feel that the ancestors are that covering that will cover me. I feel like I can only be enveloped in them spiritually and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-feel-that-the-ancestors-are-that-covering-that-will-cover-me-i-feel/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [If I'm killed - if I'm removed - there is nowhere else for me to go but to my ancestors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/if-i-m-killed-if-i-m-removed-there-is-nowhere-else-for-me-to-go-but/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [To acknowledge our ancestors means we are aware that we did not make ourselves, that the line stretches all the way back, perhaps to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/to-acknowledge-our-ancestors-means-we-are-aware-that-we-did-not-make/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [I just feel that 'The Color Purple,' which was my 10th book, was a true gift from my ancestors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-just-feel-that-the-color-purple-which-was-my-10th-book-was-a-true/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Pesticides came about after the first world war. Some brainy petrochemical money maker said, 'Hey, that mustard gas worked great on people, maybe we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/pesticides-came-about-after-the-first-world-war-some-brainy/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [When I was 18, I went to the Soviet Union. I kept hearing that America was planning to bomb them - lots of bombs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/when-i-was-18-i-went-to-the-soviet-union-i-kept-hearing-that-america/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [From where started, I think it is too far down to try and win a championship at the end of the season, although we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leslie/from-where-started-i-think-it-is-too-far-down-to-try-and-win-a/) [David Leslie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leslie/) > [One of my business partners would remind me that no fashion line lasts forever, that we would hit the down curve eventually, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daymond-john/one-of-my-business-partners-would-remind-me-that-no-fashion-line/) [Daymond John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daymond-john/) > [In the first speech I delivered as health secretary, I made one thing perfectly clear: we need a cultural shift in the NHS: from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lansley/in-the-first-speech-i-delivered-as-health-secretary-i-made-one-thing/) [Andrew Lansley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lansley/) > [On one-on-one, I'm either trying to get the first down or trying to score.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-jackson/on-one-on-one-i-m-either-trying-to-get-the-first-down-or-trying-to/) [Lamar Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-jackson/) ## 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 & 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 Ancestors quotes > [The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who... looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbur-wright/the-desire-to-fly-is-an-idea-handed-down-to-us-by-our-ancestors-who/) [Wilbur Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbur-wright/) > [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [We pay for the mistakes of our ancestors, and it seems only fair that they should leave us the money to pay with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-marquis/we-pay-for-the-mistakes-of-our-ancestors-and-it-seems-only-fair-that/) [Don Marquis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-marquis/) > [Going where no man has gone before is more difficult than it sounds. Our cousins and ancestors were no less curious than we are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/going-where-no-man-has-gone-before-is-more-difficult-than-it-sounds/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [It has been said that a man of genius should select his ancestors with great care - and yet there does not seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/it-has-been-said-that-a-man-of-genius-should-select-his-ancestors/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Most of us do more than subsist. From the vantage point of our ancestors, we live lives of almost unimaginable ease. Here again, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-hamel/most-of-us-do-more-than-subsist-from-the-vantage-point-of-our/) [Gary Hamel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-hamel/) > [Two hundred years ago, before the advent of capitalism, a man's social status was fixed from the beginning to the end of his life;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/two-hundred-years-ago-before-the-advent-of-capitalism-a-man-s-social/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [My ancestors came over from Germany about the time of the Civil War and one of them lost a leg and went back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/my-ancestors-came-over-from-germany-about-the-time-of-the-civil-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-look-deeply-into-the-palm-of-your-hand-you-will-see-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You are the fairy tale told by your ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/you-are-the-fairy-tale-told-by-your-ancestors/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [...I write to keep in contact with our ancestors and to spread truth to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sanchez/i-write-to-keep-in-contact-with-our-ancestors-and-to-spread-truth-to/) [Sonia Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sanchez/) > [“Each of us is the product of history. Our lives today are evidence that our ancestors survived unbelievable odds stretching back to prehistory. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wheldon/each-of-us-is-the-product-of-history-our-lives-today-are-evidence/) Laura Wheldon > [Do we have to give Mr Sarkozy a history lesson? Yes, there are Gauls among our ancestors. But there are also Romans, Normans, Celts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/najat-vallaud-belkacem/do-we-have-to-give-mr-sarkozy-a-history-lesson-yes-there-are-gauls/) [Najat Vallaud-Belkacem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/najat-vallaud-belkacem/) > [As a woman of color, I always pay homage to my ancestors and elders - in the industry in particular - who have paved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/da-vine-joy-randolph/as-a-woman-of-color-i-always-pay-homage-to-my-ancestors-and-elders-in/) [Da'Vine Joy Randolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/da-vine-joy-randolph/) > [“Each of us, along with our ancestors, inhabits the same cosmos. When we tell stories, we enter the stream of human consciousness; we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/each-of-us-along-with-our-ancestors-inhabits-the-same-cosmos-when-we/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) [Browse all 443 Ancestors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestors/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We should not look down on our first ancestors.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alice Walker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/we-should-not-look-down-on-our-first-ancestors/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ancestors" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/we-should-not-look-down-on-our-first-ancestors/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/alice-walker-347_ancestors_we-should-not-look-down-on-our-first-anc_2367042.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/alice-walker-347_ancestors_we-should-not-look-down-on-our-first-anc_2367042.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/alice-walker-347_ancestors_we-should-not-look-down-on-our-first-anc_2367042.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We should not look down on our first ancestors.” — 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": "We should not look down on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/we-should-not-look-down-on-our-first-ancestors/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/we-should-not-look-down-on-our-first-ancestors/#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 } } ] } ```