Black Quote by Cecil Williams
“I was the fifth child in a family of six, five boys and one girl. Bless that poor girl. We were very poor; it was the 30s. We survived off of the food and the little work that my father could get working on the roads or whatever the WPA provided. We were always in line to get food. The survival of our family really depended on the survival of the other black families in that community. We had that village aspect about us, that African sense about us. We always shared what we had with each other. We were able to make it because there was really a total family, a village.”
About This Quote
The narrator describes growing up in a poor, tightly‑knit community where mutual aid and a village mindset were essential for survival.
In simple terms: Community support helped them survive poverty.
Key Takeaway
Foster collective responsibility and shared resources.
Themes
community
poverty
solidarity
family
mutual aid
Mood
reflective
hopeful
Type
historical
sociological
When to use this quote
- urban neighborhoods
- disaster relief
- social programs
Key Concepts
sociology
history
economics
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you strengthen communal bonds?
- What policies support such solidarity?
A Different Perspective
Reliance on community can mask systemic inequities.
