--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You have to start with slavery because…" description: "\"You have to start with slavery because those abuses have never been eradicated. You know, people are not living in slums because they voted to. You kno..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa2/amiri-baraka-8050_children_you-have-to-start-with-slavery-because-t_2486035.jpg" --- # You have to start with slavery because those abuses have… ![“You have to start with slavery because those abuses have never been eradicated. You know, people are not living in slums because they voted to. You know, their children are not in jail because they wanted them to. You know, these are the results of a people who have been oppressed and suffer…” quote by Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa2/amiri-baraka-8050_children_you-have-to-start-with-slavery-because-t_2486035.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa2/amiri-baraka-8050_children_you-have-to-start-with-slavery-because-t_2486035.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa2/amiri-baraka-8050_children_you-have-to-start-with-slavery-because-t_2486035.jpg) > “You have to start with slavery because those abuses have never been eradicated. You know, people are not living in slums because they voted to. You know, their children are not in jail because they wanted them to. You know, these are the results of a people who have been oppressed and suffer national oppression, you know.” [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Systemic oppression creates enduring cycles of poverty and incarceration that cannot be solved by blaming victims. **In simple terms:** Oppression leads to ongoing hardship. Key Takeaway Address root causes, not symptoms. Themes oppression poverty incarceration systemic injustice Mood somber reflective Type political social commentary When to use this quote - policy reform - community empowerment - education access - criminal justice reform Key Concepts structural inequality historical trauma social determinants Questions to Reflect On - How can societies dismantle systemic oppression? - What policies can break the cycle of poverty? A Different Perspective Change requires dismantling entrenched power structures, not just charitable acts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Oppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ## Related quotes > [I guess that is the strange part of the human brain that people have studied for eons - is hatred and self-hatred. You can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/i-guess-that-is-the-strange-part-of-the-human-brain-that-people-have/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) > [Oxfam is part of a global movement for social justice. We mainly work to fight for economic and social rights for people without a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winnie-byanyima/oxfam-is-part-of-a-global-movement-for-social-justice-we-mainly-work/) [Winnie Byanyima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winnie-byanyima/) > [“It was my conclusion that any people who were oppressed, particularly gay people like myself, could not depend upon others to be our heroes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-d-perry/it-was-my-conclusion-that-any-people-who-were-oppressed-particularly/) Troy D. Perry > [“Human rights are being violated on every continent. More people are oppressed than free. How can one not be sensitive to their plight? Human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/human-rights-are-being-violated-on-every-continent-more-people-are/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Humour is the weapon of unarmed people: it helps people who are oppressed to smile at the situation that pains them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/humour-is-the-weapon-of-unarmed-people-it-helps-people-who-are/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [“I wrote this book for the Nelson Mandela's of our communities who are willing to stand up for change and people who are oppressed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sahndra-fon-dufe/i-wrote-this-book-for-the-nelson-mandela-s-of-our-communities-who-are/) [Sahndra Fon Dufe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sahndra-fon-dufe/) > [“Could people be oppressed in the name of freedom?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/open-university/could-people-be-oppressed-in-the-name-of-freedom/) [Open University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/open-university/) > [Some of the best art occurs when people are oppressed. That's just what we do as a species when something shakes us up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pharrell-williams/some-of-the-best-art-occurs-when-people-are-oppressed-that-s-just/) [Pharrell Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pharrell-williams/) > [Listen, here's reality. It is completely unfair and absolutely necessary that people who have been oppressed and marginalized have to lead everybody. 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A lot of people have reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rain-dove/i-get-a-lot-from-people-who-are-in-oppressed-situations-and-say-they/) [Rain Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rain-dove/) > [When the sage stands above people, they are not oppressed. When he leads people, they are not obstructed. The world will exalt him and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-the-sage-stands-above-people-they-are-not-oppressed-when-he/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [I want you to understand that I respect the rights of the poorest and weakest of colored people, oppressed by the slave system, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brown/i-want-you-to-understand-that-i-respect-the-rights-of-the-poorest-and/) [John Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brown/) > [There was a thrust to raise the consciousness of the people and we argued that in order to free ourselves we must be ourselves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maulana-karenga/there-was-a-thrust-to-raise-the-consciousness-of-the-people-and-we/) Maulana Karenga ## More by Amiri Baraka > [I had just been in some repressive situations - the black middle-class college scene and the crazy United States Air Force - and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/i-had-just-been-in-some-repressive-situations-the-black-middle-class/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [what is lost because it is most precious what is most precious because it is lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/what-is-lost-because-it-is-most-precious-what-is-most-precious/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [You have to get an individual who's willing to actually struggle with the system to change it. As long as you have people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/you-have-to-get-an-individual-who-s-willing-to-actually-struggle-with/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [I had a little portable typewriter. I call it my Harlem Literary Fellowship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/i-had-a-little-portable-typewriter-i-call-it-my-harlem-literary/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [I'm fully conscious all the time that I'm an American Negro, because it's part of my life. But I also know that if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/i-m-fully-conscious-all-the-time-that-i-m-an-american-negro-because/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [The artist's role is to raise the consciousness of the people. To make them understand life, the world and themselves more completely. 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Love his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/i-am-inside-someone-who-hates-me-i-look-out-from-his-eyes-smell-what/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [The further jazz moves away from the stark blue continuum and the collective realities of Afro-American and American life, the more it moves into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/the-further-jazz-moves-away-from-the-stark-blue-continuum-and-the/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) [Explore all 85 Amiri Baraka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. 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