--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Just as he did during the Slavery at…" description: "\"“Just as he did during the Slavery at Monticello tour, David did not mince words. \"There’s a chapter in Notes on the State of Virginia ,” he said to th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/852/clint-smith-4108_african-americans_just-as-he-did-during-the-slavery-at-mon_3043622.jpg" --- # Just as he did during the Slavery at Monticello tour… ![“Just as he did during the Slavery at Monticello tour, David did not mince words. "There’s a chapter in Notes on the State of Virginia ,” he said to the five of us, standing in front of the east wing of Jefferson’s manor, “that has some of the most racist things you might ever read, written by…” quote by Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/852/clint-smith-4108_african-americans_just-as-he-did-during-the-slavery-at-mon_3043622.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/852/clint-smith-4108_african-americans_just-as-he-did-during-the-slavery-at-mon_3043622.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/852/clint-smith-4108_african-americans_just-as-he-did-during-the-slavery-at-mon_3043622.jpg) > ““Just as he did during the Slavery at Monticello tour, David did not mince words. "There’s a chapter in Notes on the State of Virginia ,” he said to the five of us, standing in front of the east wing of Jefferson’s manor, “that has some of the most racist things you might ever read, written by anyone, anywhere, anytime, in it. So sometimes I stop and ask myself, 'If Gettysburg had gone the wrong way, would people be quoting the Declaration of Independence or Notes on the State of Virginia?' It’s the same guy writing.”” [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The paradox of revered founders holding racist views challenges us to confront uncomfortable histories and question how we honor their legacies. **In simple terms:** Even great figures can be deeply flawed. Key Takeaway Critically examine historical narratives. Themes history racism legacy truth critical thinking Mood thoughtful challenging inquisitive Type historical ethical When to use this quote - education - public discourse - museum curation - policy making - media analysis Key Concepts social justice historical revisionism public memory Questions to Reflect On - What does this reveal about national myths? - How should we reconcile admiration with condemnation? A Different Perspective Ignoring flaws can perpetuate injustice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [African americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-americans/) [American history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-history/) [Blacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blacks/) [Gettysburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gettysburg/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Presidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presidents/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [State Of Virginia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-of-virginia/) ## Related quotes > [I took notes on the people around me, in my town, in my family, in my memory. I took notes on my own state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-took-notes-on-the-people-around-me-in-my-town-in-my-family-in-my/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“John,be reasonable," Virginia said. "I've known Billy a very long time, and we have had some great adventures together. He's as close as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/john-be-reasonable-virginia-said-i-ve-known-billy-a-very-long-time/) [Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/) > [“General Lee was dressed in a full uniform which was entirely new, and was wearing a sword of considerable value, very likely the sword…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/general-lee-was-dressed-in-a-full-uniform-which-was-entirely-new-and/) [Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [The State of Virginia is similar to a great business corporation... and should be conducted with the same efficiency and economy as any private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-f-byrd/the-state-of-virginia-is-similar-to-a-great-business-corporation-and/) Harry F. Byrd > [“I have also frequently heard people question the faith of Thomas Jefferson. However, in his 1781 notes on the state of Virginia, he wrote,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/i-have-also-frequently-heard-people-question-the-faith-of-thomas/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [Science advances by trial and error. When mistakes are made, the peer-review publication process usually roots them out. Cuccinelli's version of the scientific process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mandia/science-advances-by-trial-and-error-when-mistakes-are-made-the-peer/) Scott Mandia > ['Old Dominion' is the nickname for the state of Virginia, and four of us have ties to Virginia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-ramsey/old-dominion-is-the-nickname-for-the-state-of-virginia-and-four-of-us/) [Matthew Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-ramsey/) > [“...the state of Virginia had turned down twenty-one thousand women for admission to state colleges in 1970 while not turning away a single man...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-waite-clayton/the-state-of-virginia-had-turned-down-twenty-one-thousand-women-for/) [Meg Waite Clayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-waite-clayton/) > [“With Notes on the State of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson emerged as the preeminent American authority on Black intellectual inferiority. This status would persist over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/with-notes-on-the-state-of-virginia-thomas-jefferson-emerged-as-the/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [A declaration of the independence of America, and the sovereignty of the United STates was drawn by the ingenious and philosophic pen of Thomas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercy-otis-warren/a-declaration-of-the-independence-of-america-and-the-sovereignty-of/) [Mercy Otis Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercy-otis-warren/) > [Born Virginia Marshall but nicknamed Gig, my mother was a home economics teacher who had come all the way across the whole state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smith/born-virginia-marshall-but-nicknamed-gig-my-mother-was-a-home/) [Lee Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smith/) > [Today, I think more than ever before, we have to speak up and speak out to end discrimination based on sexual orientation. Dr. King…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lewis/today-i-think-more-than-ever-before-we-have-to-speak-up-and-speak-out/) [John Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lewis/) > [“Don't go on tours with people who have never been there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-clark/don-t-go-on-tours-with-people-who-have-never-been-there/) [Clay Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-clark/) > [Book tours are such a little tapas meal of where I could live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/book-tours-are-such-a-little-tapas-meal-of-where-i-could-live/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [I've done a lot of different tours. For me, I try to go on tours that I think are gonna be fun. It's, like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelis/i-ve-done-a-lot-of-different-tours-for-me-i-try-to-go-on-tours-that-i/) [Kelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelis/) ## More by Clint Smith > [Until affirmative action is described and understood as one mechanism by which to make amends for historical wrongdoing against members of marginalized communities, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/until-affirmative-action-is-described-and-understood-as-one-mechanism/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [If our principles are only our principles when it is convenient for us, when they align with our visceral emotional responses, then they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/if-our-principles-are-only-our-principles-when-it-is-convenient-for/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [The U.S. prison system, over all, disproportionately affects black and brown people, but people of color are overrepresented to a greater degree in private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/the-u-s-prison-system-over-all-disproportionately-affects-black-and/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [America's economy cannot be disentangled from the free labor that built it, just as America's culture cannot be unbound from the black artists who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/america-s-economy-cannot-be-disentangled-from-the-free-labor-that/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [In sixth grade, my status as a Boy Scout was not something I went out of my way to share. In fact, I spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/in-sixth-grade-my-status-as-a-boy-scout-was-not-something-i-went-out/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [The history of racial violence in our country is both omnipresent and unspoken. It is a smog that surrounds us that few will admit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/the-history-of-racial-violence-in-our-country-is-both-omnipresent-and/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [If you carry a gun, people will call you paranoid. That's ridiculous. If I have a gun, what in the hell do I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/if-you-carry-a-gun-people-will-call-you-paranoid-that-s-ridiculous-if/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [When the power of private prisons is diminished, so, too, is their ability to engage in back-door political lobbying that has an impact on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/when-the-power-of-private-prisons-is-diminished-so-too-is-their/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [Systemic racism always takes a toll, whether it be by bullet or by blood clot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/systemic-racism-always-takes-a-toll-whether-it-be-by-bullet-or-by/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [One does not read a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks with hopes that it will grant him a career in engineering; he does so because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/one-does-not-read-a-poem-by-gwendolyn-brooks-with-hopes-that-it-will/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [Education is a human right - a recognition of dignity that each person should be afforded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/education-is-a-human-right-a-recognition-of-dignity-that-each-person/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [Preparing oneself for the possibility of confronting racism triggers something that slowly chips away at physical and emotional well-being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/preparing-oneself-for-the-possibility-of-confronting-racism-triggers/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [In my home, guns were not something to be earned or celebrated. Water guns and Nerf guns were not allowed outside. B.B. guns were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/in-my-home-guns-were-not-something-to-be-earned-or-celebrated-water/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [If you're not shootin', you should be loadin'. If you're not loadin, you should be movin', if you're not movin', someone's gonna cut your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/if-you-re-not-shootin-you-should-be-loadin-if-you-re-not-loadin-you/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [If you only hear one side of the story, at some point, you have to question who the writer is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/if-you-only-hear-one-side-of-the-story-at-some-point-you-have-to/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) [Explore all 116 Clint Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) ## More African americans quotes > [In a lot of movies, African-Americans are either maids or slaves, but that's not all they were. We need to show that. And we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/in-a-lot-of-movies-african-americans-are-either-maids-or-slaves-but/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [I know I'm more forgiving than most African Americans when it comes to second chances for White people who not only commit a racial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-capehart/i-know-i-m-more-forgiving-than-most-african-americans-when-it-comes/) [Jonathan Capehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-capehart/) > [It may be changing, but still it's the one place, that total control of an institution, that African Americans have. So sometimes, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/it-may-be-changing-but-still-it-s-the-one-place-that-total-control-of/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [“Alabama in 1927 alone, 27,701 men were arrested on misdemeanor charges and offered for sale by county sheriffs. In Blackmon’s estimation, “roughly half of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/alabama-in-1927-alone-27-701-men-were-arrested-on-misdemeanor-charges/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [“He (Zerubavel) draws attention to the social influences on perception (what people notice), attention and concern (what people care about), classification (how people categorize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-griswold/he-zerubavel-draws-attention-to-the-social-influences-on-perception/) [Wendy Griswold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-griswold/) > [To those African-Americans suffering in our country, I say, what do you have to lose? Vote for Trump, I'm going to fix it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/to-those-african-americans-suffering-in-our-country-i-say-what-do-you/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Affirmative action was designed to recognize the uniquely difficult journey of African-Americans. This policy was justifiable and understandable, even to those who came from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-webb/affirmative-action-was-designed-to-recognize-the-uniquely-difficult/) [Jim Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-webb/) > [“The black officer checks Daddy while his partner glances around at all of the onlookers. There's quite a few of us now. Ms. Yvette…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-thomas/the-black-officer-checks-daddy-while-his-partner-glances-around-at/) [Angie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-thomas/) > [African Americans are doing a lot already, but I think we have an opportunity right now to change politics in a way that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-beckmann/african-americans-are-doing-a-lot-already-but-i-think-we-have-an/) [David Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-beckmann/) > [The uncomfortable reality we must face is that California, like the nation as a whole, has treated generations of African Americans and Latinos as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-uncomfortable-reality-we-must-face-is-that-california-like-the/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Since the nations founding, African Americans repeatedly have been controlled through institutions such as slavery and Jim Crow, which appear to die but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/since-the-nations-founding-african-americans-repeatedly-have-been/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [You take a look at the history of African Americans in the US. 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In our position, there's always some sort of stereotype that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xavier-woods/as-african-americans-we-don-t-start-with-a-blank-slate-while-other/) [Xavier Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xavier-woods/) [Browse all 593 African americans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-americans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Just as he did during the Slavery at Monticello tour, David did not mince words. \"There’s a chapter in Notes on the State of Virginia ,” he said to the five of us, standing in front of the east wing of Jefferson’s manor, “that has some of the most racist things you might ever read, written by anyone, anywhere, anytime, in it. So sometimes I stop and ask myself, 'If Gettysburg had gone the wrong way, would people be quoting the Declaration of Independence or Notes on the State of Virginia?' 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