--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Here's the thing. When we talk about race…" description: "\"Here's the thing. When we talk about race relations in America or racial progress, it's all nonsense. There are no race relations. White people were cr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9c/chris-rock-767_america_here-s-the-thing-when-we-talk-about-race_107495.jpg" --- # Here's the thing. When we talk about race relations in… ![“Here's the thing. When we talk about race relations in America or racial progress, it's all nonsense. There are no race relations. White people were crazy. Now they're not as crazy. To say that black people have made progress would be to say they deserve what happened to them before.” quote by Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9c/chris-rock-767_america_here-s-the-thing-when-we-talk-about-race_107495.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9c/chris-rock-767_america_here-s-the-thing-when-we-talk-about-race_107495.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9c/chris-rock-767_america_here-s-the-thing-when-we-talk-about-race_107495.jpg) > “Here's the thing. When we talk about race relations in America or racial progress, it's all nonsense. There are no race relations. White people were crazy. Now they're not as crazy. To say that black people have made progress would be to say they deserve what happened to them before.” [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker dismisses the concept of race relations, suggesting that historical oppression was inevitable and that any progress is merely a continuation of past suffering. **In simple terms:** Claims race relations are a myth and progress is just consequence of past oppression. Key Takeaway Denies systemic change, frames history as deterministic. Themes race history determinism social critique Mood skeptical provocative Type social commentary political satire When to use this quote - debates on reparations - college sociology classes - media commentary on race Key Concepts historical fatalism racial essentialism Practical Applications - use in rhetorical analysis of controversial statements Questions to Reflect On - What evidence contradicts the claim that race relations are nonexistent? - How does this view affect efforts toward equity? A Different Perspective Overlooks structural factors and agency that can alter social dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Racial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-racial-262582/) [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-people/) [Crazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crazy/) [Deserve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deserve/) [Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Nonsense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonsense/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Race relations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race-relations/) [Racial Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racial-progress-816429/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Relation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relation/) [Talk Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-race-809994/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-people/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [“IN ADDITION TO having become a distinctly Christian party, the GOP is more than ever America’s self-consciously white party. The nationalization of its Southern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/in-addition-to-having-become-a-distinctly-christian-party-the-gop-is/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [I think when people talk about race relations in America, they talk about African-American and white people. Asians are not often brought into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-chieng/i-think-when-people-talk-about-race-relations-in-america-they-talk/) [Ronny Chieng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-chieng/) > [“I don't want people to think I mind being mistaken for African American. I don't. There are, however, many African immigrants in America who,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-owusu/i-don-t-want-people-to-think-i-mind-being-mistaken-for-african/) [Nadia Owusu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-owusu/) > [“Does anyone in this room have it?" "No, Chris, no one here has it." "How do you know?" "Because the mark was dark skin.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/does-anyone-in-this-room-have-it-no-chris-no-one-here-has-it-how-do/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) > [I have compromised down the line. I've disliked it intensely in the old days when you were trying to talk race relations and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/i-have-compromised-down-the-line-i-ve-disliked-it-intensely-in-the/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [We talk race relations, gender politics, about what's actually happening here in America... Winning 'Drag Race,' has allowed me to amplify that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-the-drag-queen/we-talk-race-relations-gender-politics-about-what-s-actually/) [Bob the Drag Queen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-the-drag-queen/) > [You can't have anything valuable in your house. Niggers will break in and take it all! Everything white people don't like about black people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/you-can-t-have-anything-valuable-in-your-house-niggers-will-break-in/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [America is racial. America was founded on race. Race is America. The code name for America is 'race.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mooney/america-is-racial-america-was-founded-on-race-race-is-america-the/) [Paul Mooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mooney/) > [“Curing America's racial pathology couldn't be done with good intentions or presidential elections. Like all diseases, it had to be analyzed at a microscopic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mat-johnson/curing-america-s-racial-pathology-couldn-t-be-done-with-good/) [Mat Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mat-johnson/) > [Ailes built a Kingdom of Yes. That was his genius. He understood the id of many white conservatives - their sense of constant persecution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/ailes-built-a-kingdom-of-yes-that-was-his-genius-he-understood-the-id/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [Debating the concept of race does not mean that I in any way regard this as a quarrel between neighbors over where they come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norbert-elias/debating-the-concept-of-race-does-not-mean-that-i-in-any-way-regard/) [Norbert Elias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norbert-elias/) > [In America, there is no racial segregation. I'm not sure I'm quite familiar with this phrase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/in-america-there-is-no-racial-segregation-i-m-not-sure-i-m-quite/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) > [“Curing America’s racial pathology couldn’t be done with good intentions or presidential elections.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mat-johnson/curing-america-s-racial-pathology-couldn-t-be-done-with-good-2/) [Mat Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mat-johnson/) > [Prisoners do matter when analyzing the severity of racial inequality in the U.S. Yet because they are out of sight and out of mind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/prisoners-do-matter-when-analyzing-the-severity-of-racial-inequality/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If we continue to tell ourselves the popular myths about racial progress or, worse yet, if we say to ourselves that the problem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-we-continue-to-tell-ourselves-the-popular-myths-about-racial/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## More by Chris Rock > [Ja Rule is not Tupac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/ja-rule-is-not-tupac/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [Right now, my job is that I'm like an ambulance chaser. I've got to look for movies with white guys falling out of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/right-now-my-job-is-that-i-m-like-an-ambulance-chaser-i-ve-got-to/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [If you live with a single parent, you don't see compromise. You witness a grown person living in a world where they do what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/if-you-live-with-a-single-parent-you-don-t-see-compromise-you-witness/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [Nobody ever says, 'Hey daddy, thanks for knockin' out this rent.' 'Hey daddy, I sure love this hot water.' 'Hey daddy, it's easy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/nobody-ever-says-hey-daddy-thanks-for-knockin-out-this-rent-hey-daddy/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [You know the world is messed up when the tallest man in the NBA is Chinese, the best golfer is black, and the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/you-know-the-world-is-messed-up-when-the-tallest-man-in-the-nba-is/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [You can't think the thoughts you want to think if you think you're being watched.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/you-can-t-think-the-thoughts-you-want-to-think-if-you-think-you-re/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [There's not one reference in that thing that doesn't play. People deal with emotions in music all the time, but comedians are always talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/there-s-not-one-reference-in-that-thing-that-doesn-t-play-people-deal/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [My mother got sick when I was rich. And my mother, you know … I don’t really want to get into it, but my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/my-mother-got-sick-when-i-was-rich-and-my-mother-you-know-i-don-t/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [I think anybody in front of a crowd is a comedian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/i-think-anybody-in-front-of-a-crowd-is-a-comedian/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [I see as white people finding loopholes in the slavery laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/i-see-as-white-people-finding-loopholes-in-the-slavery-laws/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [I was raised to believe that you had to do things better than white people in order to succeed. The old black shows were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/i-was-raised-to-believe-that-you-had-to-do-things-better-than-white/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [Men lie the most, women tell the biggest lies... a man's lie is, "I'm at Tony house, I was at Kenny house!" A woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/men-lie-the-most-women-tell-the-biggest-lies-a-man-s-lie-is-i-m-at/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [You can't fake comedy - it's not like a movie, where a director can just cast a pretty face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/you-can-t-fake-comedy-it-s-not-like-a-movie-where-a-director-can-just/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [All people naturally hate. My kid bites people now. I didn't teach my kid to bite anybody. Kids say mean stuff. Only through love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/all-people-naturally-hate-my-kid-bites-people-now-i-didn-t-teach-my/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [I think all the funny people were bullied. When they talk about outlawing bullying, it's like, what? You want no Comedy Central?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/i-think-all-the-funny-people-were-bullied-when-they-talk-about/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) [Explore all 376 Chris Rock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Here's the thing. When we talk about race relations in America or racial progress, it's all nonsense. There are no race relations. White people were crazy. Now they're not as crazy. To say that black people have made progress would be to say they deserve what happened to them before.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chris Rock" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/here-s-the-thing-when-we-talk-about-race-relations-in-america-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/here-s-the-thing-when-we-talk-about-race-relations-in-america-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9c/chris-rock-767_america_here-s-the-thing-when-we-talk-about-race_107495.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9c/chris-rock-767_america_here-s-the-thing-when-we-talk-about-race_107495.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9c/chris-rock-767_america_here-s-the-thing-when-we-talk-about-race_107495.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Here's the thing. When we talk about race relations in America or racial progress, it's all nonsense. There…” — Chris Rock", "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": "Chris Rock", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Here's the thing. When we talk...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/here-s-the-thing-when-we-talk-about-race-relations-in-america-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/here-s-the-thing-when-we-talk-about-race-relations-in-america-or/#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 } } ] } ```