--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Black people have to define who we are…" description: "\"Black people have to define who we are, or others do it for us.\" — Baron Vaughn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/baron-vaughn-6620_black_black-people-have-to-define-who-we-are-o_135671.jpg" --- # Black people have to define who we are, or others do it… ![“Black people have to define who we are, or others do it for us.” quote by Baron Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/baron-vaughn-6620_black_black-people-have-to-define-who-we-are-o_135671.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/baron-vaughn-6620_black_black-people-have-to-define-who-we-are-o_135671.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/baron-vaughn-6620_black_black-people-have-to-define-who-we-are-o_135671.jpg) > “Black people have to define who we are, or others do it for us.” [Baron Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-vaughn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement emphasizes the necessity for marginalized groups to define their own identity to avoid external misrepresentation. **In simple terms:** We must define ourselves before others do. Key Takeaway Take control of your narrative. Themes identity agency representation Mood assertive urgent Type social political When to use this quote - activism - media representation - education Key Concepts racial identity self‑definition social discourse Questions to Reflect On - How can communities assert their identity? - What platforms help self‑definition? A Different Perspective External definitions can be entrenched. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [It's the people around you who define your career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-savoretti/it-s-the-people-around-you-who-define-your-career/) [Jack Savoretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-savoretti/) > [So many people define themselves by what they've accomplished or not accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morley/so-many-people-define-themselves-by-what-they-ve-accomplished-or-not/) [Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morley/) > [“People define you based on what you value...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assegid-habtewold/people-define-you-based-on-what-you-value/) [Assegid Habtewold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/assegid-habtewold/) > [“Strong people define themselves; weak people allow others to define them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-poirot/strong-people-define-themselves-weak-people-allow-others-to-define/) [Ken Poirot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-poirot/) > [People define themselves to some degree by the music that they listened to as teens. My mom had Elvis. Me, I had 'The Who'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/people-define-themselves-to-some-degree-by-the-music-that-they/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I think in some ways we have allowed other people to set the agenda. Other people to define who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-scott/i-think-in-some-ways-we-have-allowed-other-people-to-set-the-agenda/) [Lee Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-scott/) > [What sets black people apart is not some deficit in personal responsibility. It's the weight on our shoulders. That is what's actually different. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/what-sets-black-people-apart-is-not-some-deficit-in-personal/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [I've heard that Black people and Black faces don't sell magazines, but one day you're going to beg me to be on there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/i-ve-heard-that-black-people-and-black-faces-don-t-sell-magazines-but/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [Often young black people are looking towards the alternative economies. They are looking towards the drug economy… the economies that are going to that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-davis/often-young-black-people-are-looking-towards-the-alternative/) [Angela Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-davis/) > [I'll start with the reality. If we're having problems nationally, we're having problems on the state level and then on the local level, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/i-ll-start-with-the-reality-if-we-re-having-problems-nationally-we-re/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [Black people are not often considered mainstream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamman-rucker/black-people-are-not-often-considered-mainstream/) [Lamman Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamman-rucker/) > [Sadly, black people disassociate ourselves from the things which make us who we are, identifying them as lesser, or inferior. It's a form of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-parker/sadly-black-people-disassociate-ourselves-from-the-things-which-make/) [Nate Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-parker/) > [Adam Clayton Powell's entire political career has to be looked at in the entire context of the American history and the history of, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/adam-clayton-powell-s-entire-political-career-has-to-be-looked-at-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Well of course there's been a great deal of progress over the last 40 years. We don't have laws that segregate black people within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-davis/well-of-course-there-s-been-a-great-deal-of-progress-over-the-last-40/) [Angela Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-davis/) > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) ## More by Baron Vaughn > [ Basically I made her \[ Sara Pocock\] listen to funk music for a good month, a nonstop stream of George Clinton. I was talking… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/basically-i-made-her-sara-pocock-listen-to-funk-music-for-a-good/) [Baron Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-vaughn/) > [I was processing a lot of different things and kind of looking over a lot of things and rethinking my childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/i-was-processing-a-lot-of-different-things-and-kind-of-looking-over-a/) [Baron Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-vaughn/) > [When it was announced that Michael Keaton was going to be Batman, everyone was mad. When they announced that Val Kilmer was going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/when-it-was-announced-that-michael-keaton-was-going-to-be-batman/) [Baron Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-vaughn/) > [The alphabet was invented in Iraq, so it's a cool place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/the-alphabet-was-invented-in-iraq-so-it-s-a-cool-place/) [Baron Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-vaughn/) > [What makes a good festival, above all, is the audience. It feels disconnected when it's meant to bring in people from elsewhere and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/what-makes-a-good-festival-above-all-is-the-audience-it-feels/) [Baron Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-vaughn/) > [I'll get laughs in the places I don't want them and that makes me realize the direction I want to go in. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/i-ll-get-laughs-in-the-places-i-don-t-want-them-and-that-makes-me/) [Baron Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-vaughn/) > [Sometimes you're not getting the laughs you want or at the place you want but that doesn't mean it's not funny. It means you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/sometimes-you-re-not-getting-the-laughs-you-want-or-at-the-place-you/) [Baron Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-vaughn/) > [ \[Harold Pinter\] is a British playwright and is one of my favorite writers. Harold was very obsessed with when memory becomes mythology, that at… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/harold-pinter-is-a-british-playwright-and-is-one-of-my-favorite/) [Baron Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-vaughn/) > [We are constantly consuming entertainment; we treat celebrities like role models and royalty. Sometimes destructive behavior gets ignored, or sometimes the pressure breaks them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/we-are-constantly-consuming-entertainment-we-treat-celebrities-like/) [Baron Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-vaughn/) > [The audience is not your boss. They are your collaborators and when you collaborate with someone you don't have to listen to everything they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/the-audience-is-not-your-boss-they-are-your-collaborators-and-when/) [Baron Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-vaughn/) > [I was really into ska.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/i-was-really-into-ska/) [Baron Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-vaughn/) > [I was in the middle of filming Season 3 of 'Grace and Frankie.' Then the writing process for 'Mystery Science Theater 3000' was happening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/i-was-in-the-middle-of-filming-season-3-of-grace-and-frankie-then-the/) [Baron Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-vaughn/) > [I remember reading in a comedy book very long ago when I first started, a person said there's a difference between a sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/i-remember-reading-in-a-comedy-book-very-long-ago-when-i-first/) [Baron Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-vaughn/) > [Being around Lily Tomlin has been great, how she treats people, how she handles herself, how she goes about interpreting her character or deciding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/being-around-lily-tomlin-has-been-great-how-she-treats-people-how-she/) [Baron Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-vaughn/) > [Plenty of black people that I know have been on 'SNL,' and they haven't been utilized to the best of their abilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/plenty-of-black-people-that-i-know-have-been-on-snl-and-they-haven-t/) [Baron Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-vaughn/) [Explore all 98 Baron Vaughn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-vaughn/) ## More Black quotes > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. 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We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) Frank B. Wilderson III > [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/if-soot-stains-your-tunic-dye-it-black-this-is-vengeance/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) Browse all 11,655 Black quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Black people have to define who we are, or others do it for us.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Baron Vaughn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/black-people-have-to-define-who-we-are-or-others-do-it-for-us/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Black" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/black-people-have-to-define-who-we-are-or-others-do-it-for-us/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/baron-vaughn-6620_black_black-people-have-to-define-who-we-are-o_135671.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/baron-vaughn-6620_black_black-people-have-to-define-who-we-are-o_135671.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/baron-vaughn-6620_black_black-people-have-to-define-who-we-are-o_135671.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Black people have to define who we are, or others do it for us.” — Baron Vaughn", "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": "Baron Vaughn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-vaughn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Black people have to define who...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/black-people-have-to-define-who-we-are-or-others-do-it-for-us/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/black-people-have-to-define-who-we-are-or-others-do-it-for-us/#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 } } ] } ```