--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A people who free themselves from foreign…" description: "\"A people who free themselves from foreign domination will be free culturally only if, without complexes and without underestimating the importance of p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ba/amilcar-cabral-30540_complexes_a-people-who-free-themselves-from-foreig_1662369.png" --- # A people who free themselves from foreign domination will… ![“A people who free themselves from foreign domination will be free culturally only if, without complexes and without underestimating the importance of positive accretions from oppressor and other cultures, they return to the upward paths of their own culture, which is nourished by the living…” quote by Amilcar Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ba/amilcar-cabral-30540_complexes_a-people-who-free-themselves-from-foreig_1662369.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ba/amilcar-cabral-30540_complexes_a-people-who-free-themselves-from-foreig_1662369.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ba/amilcar-cabral-30540_complexes_a-people-who-free-themselves-from-foreig_1662369.png) > “A people who free themselves from foreign domination will be free culturally only if, without complexes and without underestimating the importance of positive accretions from oppressor and other cultures, they return to the upward paths of their own culture, which is nourished by the living reality of its environment, and which negates both harmful influences and any kind of subjection to foreign culture. Thus, it may be seen that if imperialist domination has the vital need to practice cultural oppression, national liberation is necessarily an act of culture” [Amilcar Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amilcar-cabral/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cultural freedom requires reclaiming native traditions while critically integrating beneficial foreign influences, rejecting oppressive external domination. **In simple terms:** Free culture means reclaiming roots and wisely using outside ideas. Key Takeaway Embrace native culture, filter foreign impacts. Themes culture decolonization identity resistance Mood reflective determined Type philosophical political When to use this quote - education reform - community arts programs - policy making - media representation Key Concepts postcolonial theory cultural hybridity nationalism Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide which foreign elements to keep? - What risks arise from rejecting all external influence? A Different Perspective Balancing preservation with openness can be difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Domination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domination/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Foreign culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-culture/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Liberation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberation/) [Living reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-reality/) [Oppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression/) [Oppressors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppressors/) [Other cultures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/other-cultures/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Subjection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjection/) ## Related quotes > [National liberation is necessarily an act of culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amilcar-cabral/national-liberation-is-necessarily-an-act-of-culture/) [Amilcar Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amilcar-cabral/) > [The real reason Cuba poses a threat has nothing to do with my being here or anyone else being here. It's because Cuba is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assata-shakur/the-real-reason-cuba-poses-a-threat-has-nothing-to-do-with-my-being/) [Assata Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/assata-shakur/) > [English is the 'language of liberty' for nations emerging from years of cultural oppression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/english-is-the-language-of-liberty-for-nations-emerging-from-years-of/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [And I guess what I would say is that we can't think narrowly about movements for black liberation and we can't necessarily see this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-davis/and-i-guess-what-i-would-say-is-that-we-can-t-think-narrowly-about/) [Angela Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-davis/) > [At some point, you realize you can't provide a perfectly monolithic description of a foreign culture's future any more than you can provide a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/at-some-point-you-realize-you-can-t-provide-a-perfectly-monolithic/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [Traveling and being in foreign cultures has always been really stimulating for me, partly because, when I'm living abroad, everything is new and like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-marston/traveling-and-being-in-foreign-cultures-has-always-been-really/) Joshua Marston > [Much of the violence that humanity suffers in our times is rooted inmisunderstanding as well as in the rejection of the values and identityof…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/much-of-the-violence-that-humanity-suffers-in-our-times-is-rooted/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [Culture hides more than it reveals and strangely enough what it hides, it hides most effectively from it's own participants. Years of study have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-t-hall/culture-hides-more-than-it-reveals-and-strangely-enough-what-it-hides-2/) [Edward T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-t-hall/) > [Foreign culture is as necessary to the spirit of a nation as is foreign commerce to its industries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ameen-rihani/foreign-culture-is-as-necessary-to-the-spirit-of-a-nation-as-is/) [Ameen Rihani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ameen-rihani/) > [“A nation which refuses to learn from foreign culture is nothing but a nation of idiots and lunatics... But to learn from other cultures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-nyerere/a-nation-which-refuses-to-learn-from-foreign-culture-is-nothing-but-a/) [Julius Nyerere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-nyerere/) > [“Display in a foreign culture is not a foreign concept, and anyone who has ever traveled abroad will recollect, if they are honest, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-gralla/display-in-a-foreign-culture-is-not-a-foreign-concept-and-anyone-who/) Cynthia Gralla > [“A foolish mind would not raise an eyebrow when things are done diff erently in a foreign culture. An educated mind would try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-d-gonsalves/a-foolish-mind-would-not-raise-an-eyebrow-when-things-are-done-diff/) [Gloria D. Gonsalves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-d-gonsalves/) > [Translation rewrites a foreign text in terms that are intelligible and interesting to readers in the receiving culture. Doing so is akin to committing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-venuti/translation-rewrites-a-foreign-text-in-terms-that-are-intelligible/) Lawrence Venuti > [Travel enables us to enrich our lives with new experiences, to enjoy and to be educated, to learn respect for foreign cultures, to establish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/travel-enables-us-to-enrich-our-lives-with-new-experiences-to-enjoy/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [I do not feel that the West has really become less condescending toward foreign cultures than the Greeks and Romans were: it has only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-asad/i-do-not-feel-that-the-west-has-really-become-less-condescending/) [Muhammad Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-asad/) ## More by Amilcar Cabral > [We must walk rapidly but not run. We must not be opportunists, nor allow our enthusiasms to make us lose the vision of concrete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amilcar-cabral/we-must-walk-rapidly-but-not-run-we-must-not-be-opportunists-nor/) [Amilcar Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amilcar-cabral/) > [One of the most serious errors, if not the most serious error, committed by colonial powers in Africa, may have been to ignore or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amilcar-cabral/one-of-the-most-serious-errors-if-not-the-most-serious-error/) [Amilcar Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amilcar-cabral/) > [Always bear in mind that the people are not fighting for ideas, for the things in anyone’s head. They are fighting to win material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amilcar-cabral/always-bear-in-mind-that-the-people-are-not-fighting-for-ideas-for/) [Amilcar Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amilcar-cabral/) > [Hide nothing from the masses of our people. Tell no lies. Expose lies whenever they are told. Mask no difficulties, mistakes, failures. Claim no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amilcar-cabral/hide-nothing-from-the-masses-of-our-people-tell-no-lies-expose-lies/) [Amilcar Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amilcar-cabral/) > [We must act as if we answer to, and only answer to, our Ancestors, our children, and the unborn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amilcar-cabral/we-must-act-as-if-we-answer-to-and-only-answer-to-our-ancestors-our/) [Amilcar Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amilcar-cabral/) > [Educate ourselves; educate other people, the population in general, to fight fear and ignorance, to eliminate little by little the subjection to nature and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amilcar-cabral/educate-ourselves-educate-other-people-the-population-in-general-to/) [Amilcar Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amilcar-cabral/) > [Tell no lies' claim no easy victories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amilcar-cabral/tell-no-lies-claim-no-easy-victories/) [Amilcar Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amilcar-cabral/) > [The colonists usually say that it was they who brought us into history: today we show that this is not so. They made us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amilcar-cabral/the-colonists-usually-say-that-it-was-they-who-brought-us-into/) [Amilcar Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amilcar-cabral/) > [We are not going to eliminate imperialism by shouting insults at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amilcar-cabral/we-are-not-going-to-eliminate-imperialism-by-shouting-insults-at-it/) [Amilcar Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amilcar-cabral/) > [Culture is simultaneously the fruit of a people's history and a determinant of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amilcar-cabral/culture-is-simultaneously-the-fruit-of-a-people-s-history-and-a/) [Amilcar Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amilcar-cabral/) > [We are fighting so that insults may no longer rule our countries, martyred and scorned for centuries, so that our peoples may never more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amilcar-cabral/we-are-fighting-so-that-insults-may-no-longer-rule-our-countries/) [Amilcar Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amilcar-cabral/) > [National liberation is necessarily an act of culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amilcar-cabral/national-liberation-is-necessarily-an-act-of-culture/) [Amilcar Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amilcar-cabral/) > [We must practice revolutionary democracy in every aspect of our Party life. Every responsible member must have the courage of his responsibilities, exacting from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amilcar-cabral/we-must-practice-revolutionary-democracy-in-every-aspect-of-our-party/) [Amilcar Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amilcar-cabral/) > [No matter how hot the water from your well, it will not cook your rice...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amilcar-cabral/no-matter-how-hot-the-water-from-your-well-it-will-not-cook-your-rice/) [Amilcar Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amilcar-cabral/) [Explore all 15 Amilcar Cabral quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amilcar-cabral/) ## More Complexes quotes > [Being an artist is a totally godlike thing to do - and I have a god complex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-anderson/being-an-artist-is-a-totally-godlike-thing-to-do-and-i-have-a-god/) [Laurie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-anderson/) > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [For many of us, work is the one place where we feel appreciated. The things that we long to experience at home - pride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlie-russell-hochschild/for-many-of-us-work-is-the-one-place-where-we-feel-appreciated-the/) [Arlie Russell Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlie-russell-hochschild/) > [People are messy and complex, particularly in the homosexual world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/people-are-messy-and-complex-particularly-in-the-homosexual-world/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [At the risk of some oversimplification, if the skill composition of our work force meshed fully with the needs of our increasingly complex capital-stock,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/at-the-risk-of-some-oversimplification-if-the-skill-composition-of/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [There's a whole journalistic-industrial complex dedicated to keeping newsprint, TV screens and radio waves clean of destabilizing scoops damaging to corporations or the state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-cockburn/there-s-a-whole-journalistic-industrial-complex-dedicated-to-keeping/) [Alexander Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-cockburn/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [Through learning we grow, becoming more than we were before, and in that sense learning is unselfish, because it results in the transformation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/through-learning-we-grow-becoming-more-than-we-were-before-and-in/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [Significantly, God in Genesis 1 pronounces the rest of creation "good" before humanity is created. The psalmist and the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-clapp/significantly-god-in-genesis-1-pronounces-the-rest-of-creation-good/) Rodney Clapp > [Naval dominance of European waters was the largest, longest, most complex and expensive project ever undertaken by the British state and society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-rodger/naval-dominance-of-european-waters-was-the-largest-longest-most/) [Nicholas Rodger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-rodger/) > [When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/when-you-first-start-off-trying-to-solve-a-problem-the-first/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“The act of consciousness is central; otherwise we are overrun by the complexes. 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This is a tough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/we-knew-the-syrian-situation-was-complex-and-there-were-lots-of/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) [Browse all 1,635 Complexes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A people who free themselves from foreign domination will be free culturally only if, without complexes and without underestimating the importance of positive accretions from oppressor and other cultures, they return to the upward paths of their own culture, which is nourished by the living reality of its environment, and which negates both harmful influences and any kind of subjection to foreign culture. 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