--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Because of the generation in which I came…" description: "\"Because of the generation in which I came into the world, there were expectations. Of course there were expectations. It was something having to do wit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/anna-deavere-smith-4847_baltimore_because-of-the-generation-in-which-i-cam_848191.png" --- # Because of the generation in which I came into the world… ![“Because of the generation in which I came into the world, there were expectations. Of course there were expectations. It was something having to do with being a respectable Negro woman who would make the people in Baltimore proud.” quote by Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/anna-deavere-smith-4847_baltimore_because-of-the-generation-in-which-i-cam_848191.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/anna-deavere-smith-4847_baltimore_because-of-the-generation-in-which-i-cam_848191.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/anna-deavere-smith-4847_baltimore_because-of-the-generation-in-which-i-cam_848191.png) > “Because of the generation in which I came into the world, there were expectations. Of course there were expectations. It was something having to do with being a respectable Negro woman who would make the people in Baltimore proud.” [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societal expectations shape identity, especially for Black women. **In simple terms:** Expectations pressure Black women to represent their community. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge limiting expectations. Themes identity race expectations Mood thoughtful determined Type narrative inspirational When to use this quote - career choices - public speaking - community leadership Key Concepts social pressure representation intersectionality Questions to Reflect On - How do expectations influence your goals? - Can you define yourself beyond expectations? A Different Perspective Expectations can be both motivating and restrictive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Baltimore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baltimore/) [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Proud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proud/) [Woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [People are proud to be from Baltimore. In any industry you work in, you need support to survive. And this city has that support…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-waters/people-are-proud-to-be-from-baltimore-in-any-industry-you-work-in-you/) [Derek Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-waters/) > [“Free yourself from the expectations of having to be right with the wrong information.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-deir/free-yourself-from-the-expectations-of-having-to-be-right-with-the/) [Linda Deir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-deir/) > [The 60s were a continuation of the 50s much more than people realized. Certainly in some countries, like Britain, there was still a culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/the-60s-were-a-continuation-of-the-50s-much-more-than-people-realized/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [As a kid, I wanted to be part of the Lost Generation who came to France.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/as-a-kid-i-wanted-to-be-part-of-the-lost-generation-who-came-to-france/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [Ah, well, I do think the generation that came after me has changed. I think there is a growing sense that young women should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-phillips/ah-well-i-do-think-the-generation-that-came-after-me-has-changed-i/) [Jess Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-phillips/) > [Greatest generation came through some stuff that we can't even imagine - the Depression, World War I - and all they wanted after that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/greatest-generation-came-through-some-stuff-that-we-can-t-even/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [My generation, the so-called post-'90s generation that came of age after the territory was returned to China, would have the most to lose if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/my-generation-the-so-called-post-90s-generation-that-came-of-age/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [I think in my generation, when I came along in the early '60s, the type of music that was in vogue in society in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sinatra-jr/i-think-in-my-generation-when-i-came-along-in-the-early-60s-the-type/) [Frank Sinatra Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sinatra-jr/) > [“It is my fault, and the fault of everyone of my generation. I wonder what the future generations will say about us. My grandparents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/it-is-my-fault-and-the-fault-of-everyone-of-my-generation-i-wonder/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [We are the generation that came of age in an ageless society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-wyse/we-are-the-generation-that-came-of-age-in-an-ageless-society/) [Lois Wyse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-wyse/) > [“They’re like Generation X on steroids. They walk in with high expectations for themselves, their employer, their boss. If you thought you saw a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-greenberg/they-re-like-generation-x-on-steroids-they-walk-in-with-high/) [Paul Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-greenberg/) > [My generation, we came along, we had to really know our craft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aretha-franklin/my-generation-we-came-along-we-had-to-really-know-our-craft/) [Aretha Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aretha-franklin/) > [From a generation that came of age during the Great Depression, millions of our country's best and bravest took up arms in a worldwide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buyer/from-a-generation-that-came-of-age-during-the-great-depression/) [Steve Buyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buyer/) > [My generation came at a time when photography was advancing by leaps and bounds, creating the impulse to experiment and seek new approaches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gjon-mili/my-generation-came-at-a-time-when-photography-was-advancing-by-leaps/) Gjon Mili > [Baltimore is a great wrestling town.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t/baltimore-is-a-great-wrestling-town/) [Booker T](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t/) ## More by Anna Deavere Smith > [I feel like my work has been my path to freedom from having grown up in a segregated environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/i-feel-like-my-work-has-been-my-path-to-freedom-from-having-grown-up/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [Identity is an assemblage of constellations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/identity-is-an-assemblage-of-constellations/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [I think some of our most talented people are not going to pick the arts as a way that they're going to spend their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/i-think-some-of-our-most-talented-people-are-not-going-to-pick-the/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [I mean, I think that - as an actress, in particular, I'm basically a fool, and I see the world upside down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/i-mean-i-think-that-as-an-actress-in-particular-i-m-basically-a-fool/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [The American idea is as promising, imaginative, and full of the unexpected as the land itself. The land represents freedom - the frontier, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/the-american-idea-is-as-promising-imaginative-and-full-of-the/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [I have never been in a violent movie or television show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/i-have-never-been-in-a-violent-movie-or-television-show/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [Poverty makes it very difficult in an already competitive world for kids to get on a straight track where they can actually love learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/poverty-makes-it-very-difficult-in-an-already-competitive-world-for/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [Your desire to communicate must be bigger than your relationship with the chaotic and unfair realities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/your-desire-to-communicate-must-be-bigger-than-your-relationship-with/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [Self-esteem does not come from surrounding yourself with people and things that seem to increase your value. Real self-esteem is an integration of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/self-esteem-does-not-come-from-surrounding-yourself-with-people-and/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [People realize that we're very good at sending people to war, but we're not good at taking care of them. And people are coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/people-realize-that-we-re-very-good-at-sending-people-to-war-but-we/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [I love studying how people are. Not just what they're saying, but how they are, what they're doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/i-love-studying-how-people-are-not-just-what-they-re-saying-but-how/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [Many people are afraid to talk about race because it's so emotionally loaded. We don't have the vocabulary to talk about it. Every day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/many-people-are-afraid-to-talk-about-race-because-it-s-so-emotionally/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [Commit to finding the true nature of art. Go for that thing no one can teach you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/commit-to-finding-the-true-nature-of-art-go-for-that-thing-no-one-can/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [I made a real specific decision when I came out of school and most artists were writing about home - if you were a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/i-made-a-real-specific-decision-when-i-came-out-of-school-and-most/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [I think that art is supposed to be ahead of the times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/i-think-that-art-is-supposed-to-be-ahead-of-the-times/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) [Explore all 106 Anna Deavere Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) ## More Baltimore quotes > [Baltimore is a great wrestling town.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t/baltimore-is-a-great-wrestling-town/) [Booker T](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t/) > [I love Baltimore. This city has made me the man that I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deray-mckesson/i-love-baltimore-this-city-has-made-me-the-man-that-i-am/) [DeRay Mckesson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deray-mckesson/) > [He's the leader on this team, I know when Baltimore let us have him, they thought they were giving us a problem. I'll take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steinbrenner/he-s-the-leader-on-this-team-i-know-when-baltimore-let-us-have-him/) [George Steinbrenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steinbrenner/) > [I would have handled it differently than the mayor of Baltimore, that's for sure. I think it's a mistake to say, hey, guys, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-would-have-handled-it-differently-than-the-mayor-of-baltimore-that/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [I was devastated. I'm still devastated to this day. When talent like that disappears in a flash, you can't believe it. You deny it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-merrill/i-was-devastated-i-m-still-devastated-to-this-day-when-talent-like/) Helen Merrill > [People are proud to be from Baltimore. In any industry you work in, you need support to survive. And this city has that support…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-waters/people-are-proud-to-be-from-baltimore-in-any-industry-you-work-in-you/) [Derek Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-waters/) > [It's easy to whip up resentment against anything that smacks with authority. Nobody ever organizes over pan handlers. So even if a cop is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/it-s-easy-to-whip-up-resentment-against-anything-that-smacks-with/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [By the 1970s, pornography had caught up with The Block, where performers were totally in the nude. I wasn't going to do that, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaze-starr/by-the-1970s-pornography-had-caught-up-with-the-block-where/) Blaze Starr > [What I saw in Baltimore was distressing and it tells me we need stronger policies in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/what-i-saw-in-baltimore-was-distressing-and-it-tells-me-we-need/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [ After we did \[All In The Family\], that ended up being a real love fest all around. Me and Norman, Norman \[Lear\] and me,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-masur/after-we-did-all-in-the-family-that-ended-up-being-a-real-love-fest/) [Richard Masur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-masur/) > [John is a cottage industry in Baltimore and the city opens its doors for him whenever he is making a new film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mink-stole/john-is-a-cottage-industry-in-baltimore-and-the-city-opens-its-doors/) [Mink Stole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mink-stole/) > [Well I am from Annapolis Maryland. I went to High school in Baltimore, but I grew up in Annapolis. It was a cute town.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-siriano/well-i-am-from-annapolis-maryland-i-went-to-high-school-in-baltimore/) [Christian Siriano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-siriano/) > [Having secured my Indian actors, I started for Baltimore, where I organized my combination, and which was the largest troupe I had yet had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buffalo-bill/having-secured-my-indian-actors-i-started-for-baltimore-where-i/) [Buffalo Bill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buffalo-bill/) > [Red-hot songs were born on the black streets of Baltimore, where I delivered five-gallon cans of kerosene and ten-pound bags of coal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-leiber/red-hot-songs-were-born-on-the-black-streets-of-baltimore-where-i/) [Jerry Leiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-leiber/) > [I would never want to live anywhere but Baltimore. You can look far and wide, but you'll never discover a stranger city with such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/i-would-never-want-to-live-anywhere-but-baltimore-you-can-look-far/) [John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/) [Browse all 264 Baltimore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baltimore/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Because of the generation in which I came into the world, there were expectations. Of course there were expectations. It was something having to do with being a respectable Negro woman who would make the people in Baltimore proud.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anna Deavere Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/because-of-the-generation-in-which-i-came-into-the-world-there-were/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Baltimore" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/because-of-the-generation-in-which-i-came-into-the-world-there-were/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/anna-deavere-smith-4847_baltimore_because-of-the-generation-in-which-i-cam_848191.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/anna-deavere-smith-4847_baltimore_because-of-the-generation-in-which-i-cam_848191.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/anna-deavere-smith-4847_baltimore_because-of-the-generation-in-which-i-cam_848191.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Because of the generation in which I came into the world, there were expectations. Of course there were…” — Anna Deavere Smith", "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": "Anna Deavere Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Because of the generation in which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/because-of-the-generation-in-which-i-came-into-the-world-there-were/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/because-of-the-generation-in-which-i-came-into-the-world-there-were/#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 } } ] } ```