--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am excited to have a black president…" description: "\"I am excited to have a black president because white supremacy is real and it needs to be shattered.\" — Cornel West" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/cornel-west-708_black_i-am-excited-to-have-a-black-president-b_1910136.jpg" --- # I am excited to have a black president because white… ![“I am excited to have a black president because white supremacy is real and it needs to be shattered.” quote by Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/cornel-west-708_black_i-am-excited-to-have-a-black-president-b_1910136.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/cornel-west-708_black_i-am-excited-to-have-a-black-president-b_1910136.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/cornel-west-708_black_i-am-excited-to-have-a-black-president-b_1910136.jpg) > “I am excited to have a black president because white supremacy is real and it needs to be shattered.” [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A Black president challenges systemic racism and inspires change **In simple terms:** Electing diverse leaders can break oppressive structures Key Takeaway Support representation to dismantle racism Themes justice politics representation Mood passionate urgent Type political activist When to use this quote - voting - policy advocacy - community organizing - educational reform Key Concepts critical race theory political activism Questions to Reflect On - What actions can amplify this impact? - How do you confront systemic barriers? A Different Perspective Opposition may resist change aggressively ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-president-350688/) [Excited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excited/) [Excited Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excited-black-2870947/) [I am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-am/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [President White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president-white-1358214/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Shattered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shattered/) [Supremacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supremacy/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White supremacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-supremacy/) ## Related quotes > [Listen, we've got one little ol' black president, and white folks are upset, but they've had 43.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mooney/listen-we-ve-got-one-little-ol-black-president-and-white-folks-are/) [Paul Mooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mooney/) > [I don't draw any distinctions between forms of bigotry or forms of ideology that lose sight of the humanity of people. I can't stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-don-t-draw-any-distinctions-between-forms-of-bigotry-or-forms-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [All talks about legacies of white supremacy must be tied to empowering the lives of poor and working people as a whole. The black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/all-talks-about-legacies-of-white-supremacy-must-be-tied-to/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [It's clear that he was incredibly courageous in his critique of white supremacy, wealth inequality, and imperial power as it relates to war in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/it-s-clear-that-he-was-incredibly-courageous-in-his-critique-of-white/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [White supremacy is so deep-seated that it's hard to see it eliminated. But we could definitely push it back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/white-supremacy-is-so-deep-seated-that-it-s-hard-to-see-it-eliminated/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I still have a righteous indignation at injustice, no matter what form it takes. It could be homophobia, it could be white supremacy, male…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-still-have-a-righteous-indignation-at-injustice-no-matter-what-form/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I know what’s best for the President. I put him in the White house. He does well when he listens to me and poorly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-harding/i-know-what-s-best-for-the-president-i-put-him-in-the-white-house-he/) [Florence Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-harding/) > [When we started this show, my hair was black and the president was white. When we started the show, Jon and Kate were both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/when-we-started-this-show-my-hair-was-black-and-the-president-was/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [“The President is up there in the White House for you . . . . it is not you who are here for him,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/the-president-is-up-there-in-the-white-house-for-you-it-is-not-you/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [I mean, we're not talking about simply racism, we're taking about white supremacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/i-mean-we-re-not-talking-about-simply-racism-we-re-taking-about-white/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [That's unfortunately common - to blame immigrants, to blame the African-Americans who are being helped by federal programs, to blame anyone available, to direct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/that-s-unfortunately-common-to-blame-immigrants-to-blame-the-african/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I'm just challenging white supremacy at its intellectual heart every day. It's a pedagogy that I deploy against some of the most vicious resistance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/i-m-just-challenging-white-supremacy-at-its-intellectual-heart-every/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [I became an anti-fascist, and the more I saw what was happening to the peoples of Europe, the Jews, the more I saw the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-belafonte/i-became-an-anti-fascist-and-the-more-i-saw-what-was-happening-to-the/) [Harry Belafonte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-belafonte/) > [My time in prison only deepened my resolve against apartheid. Even while I was in prison, I fought against it, teaching my cellmates about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/my-time-in-prison-only-deepened-my-resolve-against-apartheid-even/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [The more divided people of color are in a system of white supremacy/privilege, the weaker they will be, both individually and collectively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-tebow/the-more-divided-people-of-color-are-in-a-system-of-white-supremacy/) [Tim Tebow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-tebow/) ## More by Cornel West > [There has certainly been ugly, right-wing hatred targeting Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-has-certainly-been-ugly-right-wing-hatred-targeting-barack-obama/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I feel as if I have been blessed to undergo a transformation from 'gangster' to 'redeemed sinner with gangster proclivities.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-feel-as-if-i-have-been-blessed-to-undergo-a-transformation-from/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“Like King, we need to put on our cemetery clothes and be coffin-ready for the next great democratic battle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/like-king-we-need-to-put-on-our-cemetery-clothes-and-be-coffin-ready/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [ “You can't really move forward until you look back. \[From Remaking America panel discussion at George Washington University\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-t-really-move-forward-until-you-look-back-from-remaking/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [When we think of globalization we are thinking in part of structures and institutions that have been developed over time and that have allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/when-we-think-of-globalization-we-are-thinking-in-part-of-structures/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The challenge artists face today is whether to be an underground, unheard genius, or to dilute their art for the marketplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-challenge-artists-face-today-is-whether-to-be-an-underground/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The need of black conservatives to gain the respect of their white peers deeply shapes certain elements of their conservatism. In this regard, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-need-of-black-conservatives-to-gain-the-respect-of-their-white/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-describes-himself-as-a-poet-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I don't draw any distinctions between forms of bigotry or forms of ideology that lose sight of the humanity of people. I can't stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-don-t-draw-any-distinctions-between-forms-of-bigotry-or-forms-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Barack Obama has domesticated the left in such a way that we feel as if we have no alternative but him...I refuse to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/barack-obama-has-domesticated-the-left-in-such-a-way-that-we-feel-as/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Larry Summers, I think, he had a long history of arrogance and relative ignorance about poor people's culture and working people's culture and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/larry-summers-i-think-he-had-a-long-history-of-arrogance-and-relative/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-greatest-gift-you-can-give-someone-is-the-gift-of-inspiration/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [You can see it in terms of the obsession on Wall Street with not just profits but greed, more profit, more profit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-see-it-in-terms-of-the-obsession-on-wall-street-with-not-just/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Anybody who takes Martin Luther King seriously has got to go beyond the standard understanding of who he was, has to connect those dots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/anybody-who-takes-martin-luther-king-seriously-has-got-to-go-beyond/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Explore all 400 Cornel West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## More Black quotes > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [How can you be more subject; black woman in a white man's world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/how-can-you-be-more-subject-black-woman-in-a-white-man-s-world/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) [Frank B. Wilderson III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-b-wilderson-iii/) > [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/if-soot-stains-your-tunic-dye-it-black-this-is-vengeance/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) [Browse all 11,655 Black quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am excited to have a black president because white supremacy is real and it needs to be shattered.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-am-excited-to-have-a-black-president-because-white-supremacy-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Black" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-am-excited-to-have-a-black-president-because-white-supremacy-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/cornel-west-708_black_i-am-excited-to-have-a-black-president-b_1910136.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/cornel-west-708_black_i-am-excited-to-have-a-black-president-b_1910136.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/cornel-west-708_black_i-am-excited-to-have-a-black-president-b_1910136.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am excited to have a black president because white supremacy is real and it needs to be shattered.” — Cornel West", "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": "Cornel West", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am excited to have a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-am-excited-to-have-a-black-president-because-white-supremacy-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-am-excited-to-have-a-black-president-because-white-supremacy-is/#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 } } ] } ```