--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Try listening, maybe. Hear what is being…" description: "\"“Try listening, maybe. Hear what is being said. And remember that it’s not about you. American Blacks are not telling you that you are to blame. They a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/506/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-505_racism_try-listening-maybe-hear-what-is-being-s_510406.png" --- # Try listening, maybe. Hear what is being said. And… ![“Try listening, maybe. Hear what is being said. And remember that it’s not about you. American Blacks are not telling you that you are to blame. They are just telling you what is.” quote by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/506/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-505_racism_try-listening-maybe-hear-what-is-being-s_510406.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/506/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-505_racism_try-listening-maybe-hear-what-is-being-s_510406.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/506/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-505_racism_try-listening-maybe-hear-what-is-being-s_510406.png) > ““Try listening, maybe. Hear what is being said. And remember that it’s not about you. American Blacks are not telling you that you are to blame. They are just telling you what is.”” [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Listening without ego reveals truth and fosters understanding. **In simple terms:** Listen, not defend. Key Takeaway Prioritize listening. Themes communication race empathy Mood introspective empathetic Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - racial dialogues - educational workshops - community meetings - personal growth Key Concepts social justice active listening Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you hold? - How can you stay present in tough conversations? A Different Perspective Listening can be uncomfortable and may expose personal biases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [“And remember that it’s not about you. American Blacks are not telling you that you are to blame. 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And the true… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/we-should-all-know-this-that-listening-is-not-talking-it-is-the/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [ Jazz is the favorite music \[of America\]. It is a type of music invented by \[American\] Blacks to please their primitive tendencies and desire… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sayyid-qutb/jazz-is-the-favorite-music-of-america-it-is-a-type-of-music-invented/) [Sayyid Qutb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sayyid-qutb/) > [Preferential affirmative action patronizes American blacks, women, and others by presuming that they cannot succeed on their own. 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We gave him his first love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/we-blacks-were-the-first-people-embracing-obama-long-before-the/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [“People were flattered to be asked about themselves and if she said nothing after they spoke, it made them say more. They were conditioned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-were-flattered-to-be-asked-about-themselves-and-if-she-said/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“For I had felt too much and reasoned too little, hearing what I was ready to hear, not what had been said. There”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-renault/for-i-had-felt-too-much-and-reasoned-too-little-hearing-what-i-was/) [Mary Renault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-renault/) > [I need to listen well so that I hear what is not said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thuli-madonsela/i-need-to-listen-well-so-that-i-hear-what-is-not-said/) Thuli Madonsela > [I didn't say 'I love you' to hear it back. I said it to make sure you knew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-didn-t-say-i-love-you-to-hear-it-back-i-said-it-to-make-sure-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie > [“What I’ve noticed being here is that many English people are in awe of America but also deeply resent it,” Obinze added. “Perfectly true,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/what-i-ve-noticed-being-here-is-that-many-english-people-are-in-awe/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [If you followed the media you'd think that everybody in Africa was starving to death, and that's not the case; so it's important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/if-you-followed-the-media-you-d-think-that-everybody-in-africa-was/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [“Because human beings lived then in a world in which physical strength was the most important attribute for survival; the physically stronger person was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/because-human-beings-lived-then-in-a-world-in-which-physical-strength/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [To return to the books of my childhood is to yield to the strain of nostalgia that is curious about the self I once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/to-return-to-the-books-of-my-childhood-is-to-yield-to-the-strain-of/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [I think white women need to wake up and say, 'Not all women are white,' three times in front of the mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/i-think-white-women-need-to-wake-up-and-say-not-all-women-are-white/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are. 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