--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Any racism or barriers that may be put…" description: "\"Any racism or barriers that may be put up, you get a tremendous sense of resistance. The more you push me, the greater I am. You can't hold me down. An..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d84/cecil-williams-31081_barriers_any-racism-or-barriers-that-may-be-put-u_590963.jpg" --- # Any racism or barriers that may be put up, you get a… ![“Any racism or barriers that may be put up, you get a tremendous sense of resistance. The more you push me, the greater I am. You can't hold me down. And the church helped me do that. My family helped that. The whole issue of struggle is critical in my life. Resistance, finding ways to resist. That…” quote by Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d84/cecil-williams-31081_barriers_any-racism-or-barriers-that-may-be-put-u_590963.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d84/cecil-williams-31081_barriers_any-racism-or-barriers-that-may-be-put-u_590963.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d84/cecil-williams-31081_barriers_any-racism-or-barriers-that-may-be-put-u_590963.jpg) > “Any racism or barriers that may be put up, you get a tremendous sense of resistance. The more you push me, the greater I am. You can't hold me down. And the church helped me do that. My family helped that. The whole issue of struggle is critical in my life. Resistance, finding ways to resist. That does not mean you do somebody in to get it. No, it means finding ways to be human in what you do, but making sure that you get it done.” [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote emphasizes that resistance to oppression strengthens identity and purpose, and that community support fuels perseverance **In simple terms:** Resistance to oppression strengthens identity and purpose Key Takeaway Use resistance as a catalyst for growth Themes resilience identity community activism spirituality Mood determined hopeful Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - civil rights protests - personal adversity - faith-based activism - family support Key Concepts empowerment collective action human dignity Questions to Reflect On - How do you channel resistance into constructive action? - What support systems help sustain your resolve? A Different Perspective Resistance can lead to burnout if not balanced with self‑care ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Barriers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barriers/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) ## Related quotes > [As peacemakers, we must resist all the powers of war and destruction and proclaim that peace is the divine gift offered to all who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/as-peacemakers-we-must-resist-all-the-powers-of-war-and-destruction/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [I think politics are a part of life, so I have no resistance to it, but it's not something I set out to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-think-politics-are-a-part-of-life-so-i-have-no-resistance-to-it-but/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [Be very very still and allow every new experience to take place in your life without any resistance whatsoever. You do not have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-caddy/be-very-very-still-and-allow-every-new-experience-to-take-place-in/) [Eileen Caddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-caddy/) > [He who holds me by a thread is not strong; the thread is strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-porchia/he-who-holds-me-by-a-thread-is-not-strong-the-thread-is-strong/) [Antonio Porchia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-porchia/) > [Will somebody hold me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-styles/will-somebody-hold-me/) [Harry Styles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-styles/) > [My life owes me. Like an overdose, I'm slowly Drifting into the arms of trouble, then trouble holds me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/my-life-owes-me-like-an-overdose-i-m-slowly-drifting-into-the-arms-of/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) > [Every time I have a bikini wax, Cameron Diaz holds me down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwyneth-paltrow/every-time-i-have-a-bikini-wax-cameron-diaz-holds-me-down/) [Gwyneth Paltrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwyneth-paltrow/) > [When the boys at school found out I had a potentially fatal peanut allergy, they used to hold me up against a wall and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-jones/when-the-boys-at-school-found-out-i-had-a-potentially-fatal-peanut/) [Milton Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-jones/) > [There are moments of clarity daily. They open me up with a breath and keep me calm. They feed me the answers. And they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/there-are-moments-of-clarity-daily-they-open-me-up-with-a-breath-and/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [“ Remember Remember me when I am gone away, Gone far away into the silent land; When you can no more hold me by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-rossetti/remember-remember-me-when-i-am-gone-away-gone-far-away-into-the/) [Christina Rossetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-rossetti/) > [Cause she hold me down every time I hit her up. When I get right I promise that we gon live it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/cause-she-hold-me-down-every-time-i-hit-her-up-when-i-get-right-i/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [I can jump ship and swim-- that the ocean will hold me, that there's got to be more than this boat I'm in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-can-jump-ship-and-swim-that-the-ocean-will-hold-me-that-there-s-got/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [My only sanction is the love and affection in which you hold me. But it has its weaknesses, as it has its strengths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-only-sanction-is-the-love-and-affection-in-which-you-hold-me-but/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Mothers love you to the end, and she didn't want to hold me back from my livelihood. So I left for a month and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-kravitz/mothers-love-you-to-the-end-and-she-didn-t-want-to-hold-me-back-from/) [Lenny Kravitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-kravitz/) > [Everything interests me, but nothing holds me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-interests-me-but-nothing-holds-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## More by Cecil Williams > [When people get up on the stage and say, "I've got AIDS," or "I'm in recovery," gosh, it's hard for them. It's like that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/when-people-get-up-on-the-stage-and-say-i-ve-got-aids-or-i-m-in/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [I need to be in touch with the people. You've got to look in their eyes, and you've got to feel what they feel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/i-need-to-be-in-touch-with-the-people-you-ve-got-to-look-in-their/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [The music certainly plays a major role. You can be free enough to comfort each other, to touch each other, to embrace each other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/the-music-certainly-plays-a-major-role-you-can-be-free-enough-to/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [I don't go and study other folks. I come from where I came from, as a kid, in the little black church I grew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/i-don-t-go-and-study-other-folks-i-come-from-where-i-came-from-as-a/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [When the musician starts improvising, he never can go back to what he did last Sunday. That's what's frightening to a lot of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/when-the-musician-starts-improvising-he-never-can-go-back-to-what-he/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [I'm not interested in being an intellectual or in being traditional, conventional. I'm not interested in having great wisdom. I'm not interested in those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/i-m-not-interested-in-being-an-intellectual-or-in-being-traditional/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [There's great poetry in the Old Testament and the New Testament. And I'm not interested in trying to prove whether this paragraph is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/there-s-great-poetry-in-the-old-testament-and-the-new-testament-and-i/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [I have excessive energy, tremendous energy. I have a sense of people. I can feel them, pretty much so, in a short time. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/i-have-excessive-energy-tremendous-energy-i-have-a-sense-of-people-i/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [Death is a reality, but life is a reality also. You got to live at this time in your life like you've never lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/death-is-a-reality-but-life-is-a-reality-also-you-got-to-live-at-this/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [I'm a folk preacher. A folk therapist. A folk musician. I come from authentically that which is of my experience. Therefore, the music is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/i-m-a-folk-preacher-a-folk-therapist-a-folk-musician-i-come-from/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [If you got the truth, you put it out there, and everybody says, "Oh, my God. That's me." And then they improvise also. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/if-you-got-the-truth-you-put-it-out-there-and-everybody-says-oh-my/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/i-was-the-fifth-child-in-a-family-of-six-five-boys-and-one-girl-bless/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [Research, as the college student will come to know it, is relatively thorough investigation, primarily in libraries, of a properly limited topic, and presentation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/research-as-the-college-student-will-come-to-know-it-is-relatively/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [That's critical to me, the community. When I was 12 years old, I had a mental breakdown; I went berserk for a long time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/that-s-critical-to-me-the-community-when-i-was-12-years-old-i-had-a/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [I am noticing that we're getting more and more people - and I don't know how to handle this - who come to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/i-am-noticing-that-we-re-getting-more-and-more-people-and-i-don-t/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) [Explore all 16 Cecil Williams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) ## More Barriers quotes > [Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they?" said Hermione as they got off the train and joined the crowd thronging toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-aunt-and-uncle-will-be-proud-though-won-t-they-said-hermione-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The gear you can't afford is not the barrier keeping you from success. Gear has very little to do with photography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chase-jarvis/the-gear-you-can-t-afford-is-not-the-barrier-keeping-you-from-success/) [Chase Jarvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chase-jarvis/) > [All of the barriers to innovation in the energy sector are arguments for a big commitment to public investment. Only the public sector can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nordhaus/all-of-the-barriers-to-innovation-in-the-energy-sector-are-arguments/) [Ted Nordhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nordhaus/) > [The "health, education, and welfare" section of government is another boondoggle. First we manufacture indigent and superfluous people by legal monopolies in land, money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurance-labadie/the-health-education-and-welfare-section-of-government-is-another/) [Laurance Labadie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurance-labadie/) > [Security is a component of everyday life that one spending time in Washington, D.C., gets accustomed to. Metal detectors, police vehicle barriers and heavily-armed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-crapo/security-is-a-component-of-everyday-life-that-one-spending-time-in/) [Mike Crapo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-crapo/) > [The biggest obstacles to our progress exist within our own lives in the form of cowardice and the tendency to give up. Breaking through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/the-biggest-obstacles-to-our-progress-exist-within-our-own-lives-in/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [I feel that there are a few things in the world without cultural barriers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-chan/i-feel-that-there-are-a-few-things-in-the-world-without-cultural/) [Jackie Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-chan/) > [English literature is a glorious inheritance which is open to all - there are no barriers, no coupons, and no restrictions. In the English…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/english-literature-is-a-glorious-inheritance-which-is-open-to-all/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Friendship embraces innumerable ends; turn where you will it is ever at your side; no barrier shuts it out; it is never untimely and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/friendship-embraces-innumerable-ends-turn-where-you-will-it-is-ever/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [I've cosponsored legislation to establish a lend-lease program to simplify bureaucratic barriers and allow a speedier transfer of U.S. military equipment to Ukraine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-waltz/i-ve-cosponsored-legislation-to-establish-a-lend-lease-program-to/) [Michael Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-waltz/) > [Don't be afraid of what you want. This is your time. The barriers are down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-freeman/don-t-be-afraid-of-what-you-want-this-is-your-time-the-barriers-are/) [Morgan Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-freeman/) > [Fear is the single biggest barrier to creativity. Unless we're brave enough to risk looking foolish, we'll inevitably find ourselves sticking to the status…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-linkner/fear-is-the-single-biggest-barrier-to-creativity-unless-we-re-brave/) [Josh Linkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-linkner/) > [He looked at my lips. I suddenly found myself wanting to lick his. 'Yes,' he replied, his eyes going molten. My breath caught in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-macalister/he-looked-at-my-lips-i-suddenly-found-myself-wanting-to-lick-his-yes/) [Katie MacAlister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-macalister/) > [What do you have to surrender? A drop has to dissolve into the ocean to become the ocean. And a drop cannot be greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/what-do-you-have-to-surrender-a-drop-has-to-dissolve-into-the-ocean/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [“One way to generate a precise customer value proposition is to think about the four most common barriers keeping people from getting particular jobs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-w-johnson/one-way-to-generate-a-precise-customer-value-proposition-is-to-think/) [Mark W. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-w-johnson/) [Browse all 1,191 Barriers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barriers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Any racism or barriers that may be put up, you get a tremendous sense of resistance. The more you push me, the greater I am. You can't hold me down. And the church helped me do that. My family helped that. The whole issue of struggle is critical in my life. 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