--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Black people are expected to be passive…" description: "\"Black people are expected to be passive citizens, good immigrants, mute and grateful.\" — David Olusoga" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/david-olusoga-5812_black-people_black-people-are-expected-to-be-passive_3203338.jpg" --- # Black people are expected to be passive citizens, good… ![“Black people are expected to be passive citizens, good immigrants, mute and grateful.” quote by David Olusoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/david-olusoga-5812_black-people_black-people-are-expected-to-be-passive_3203338.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/david-olusoga-5812_black-people_black-people-are-expected-to-be-passive_3203338.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/david-olusoga-5812_black-people_black-people-are-expected-to-be-passive_3203338.jpg) > “Black people are expected to be passive citizens, good immigrants, mute and grateful.” [David Olusoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society often imposes passive, grateful roles on Black individuals, limiting agency and voice. **In simple terms:** Black people are expected to be passive and grateful. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge imposed stereotypes. Themes identity race agency stereotypes Mood frustrated determined Type social commentary critical When to use this quote - workplace - education - media representation - community activism Key Concepts social expectations systemic bias Questions to Reflect On - How do these expectations affect personal ambition? - What can allies do to amplify Black voices? A Different Perspective Stereotypes can be deeply entrenched and hard to change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-people/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good Immigrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-immigrants-5955665/) [Grateful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grateful/) [Immigrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigrants/) [Immigrants Mute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigrants-mute-5955666/) [Mute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mute/) [Passive Citizens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passive-citizens-2886311/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Expected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-expected-560351/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [Whether a country is actually free is determined not by how well-rewarded its convention-affirming media elites are and how ignored its passive citizens are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/whether-a-country-is-actually-free-is-determined-not-by-how-well/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [I know some people expected me to be a Ballon d'Or winner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinho/i-know-some-people-expected-me-to-be-a-ballon-d-or-winner/) [Robinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinho/) > [Never have people been more the masters of their environment. Yet never has a people felt more deceived and disappointed. For never has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/never-have-people-been-more-the-masters-of-their-environment-yet/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [A lot of people, when they are expected to do great things they fold, but you have got to find a way to navigate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-coleman/a-lot-of-people-when-they-are-expected-to-do-great-things-they-fold/) [Christian Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-coleman/) > [“It's remarkable the truly stupid things people can do because it's expected of them, or they think it's expected of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-j-parker/it-s-remarkable-the-truly-stupid-things-people-can-do-because-it-s/) [K.J. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-parker/) > [“People expected certain things of me: assistance, silence, comfort. They had no idea who I was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/people-expected-certain-things-of-me-assistance-silence-comfort-they/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [People never expected a boy from a small town to have a life like I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kapil-dev/people-never-expected-a-boy-from-a-small-town-to-have-a-life-like-i/) [Kapil Dev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kapil-dev/) > [People that I never expected to be there for me have been checking up on me recently. There are some genuine people out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-that-i-never-expected-to-be-there-for-me-have-been-checking-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ['Silence Of The Lambs' was not something people expected me to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/silence-of-the-lambs-was-not-something-people-expected-me-to-do/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [“People have always expected the end of the world to be a dramatic, thematic event: war, disease, a sudden explosion. But what if the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-george/people-have-always-expected-the-end-of-the-world-to-be-a-dramatic/) [Caroline George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-george/) > [“O'Connor had a knack for bringing a personal - and winning - touch to a situation when people least expected it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-biskupic/o-connor-had-a-knack-for-bringing-a-personal-and-winning-touch-to-a/) [Joan Biskupic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-biskupic/) > [I was afraid of not living up to what people expected me to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigitte-bardot/i-was-afraid-of-not-living-up-to-what-people-expected-me-to-be/) [Brigitte Bardot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigitte-bardot/) > [“Life had a way of tossing obstacles at people when they least expected it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-r-ragan/life-had-a-way-of-tossing-obstacles-at-people-when-they-least/) [T.R. Ragan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-r-ragan/) > [People expected me to be creative and true to myself. In that way, I follow my father's footsteps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohan-marley/people-expected-me-to-be-creative-and-true-to-myself-in-that-way-i/) [Rohan Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohan-marley/) > [The number of people who expected Mrs. Hutchinson to win a Bendix washer would amaze you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/the-number-of-people-who-expected-mrs-hutchinson-to-win-a-bendix/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) ## More by David Olusoga > [I was born in Africa but brought up in the north-east of England. Most of my childhood was spent living on a council estate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/i-was-born-in-africa-but-brought-up-in-the-north-east-of-england-most/) [David Olusoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/) > [Donald Trump did not cause America's democratic crisis of faith, he rode to power on it. Once in control, he and other populists discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/donald-trump-did-not-cause-america-s-democratic-crisis-of-faith-he/) [David Olusoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/) > [Talking about class and identity can be as divisive as talking about race and racism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/talking-about-class-and-identity-can-be-as-divisive-as-talking-about/) [David Olusoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/) > [I only ever wanted to do history, and make documentaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/i-only-ever-wanted-to-do-history-and-make-documentaries/) [David Olusoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/) > [Britain in the 19th century was two things simultaneously; the hub of the largest empire on earth and the greatest manufacturing and trading nation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/britain-in-the-19th-century-was-two-things-simultaneously-the-hub-of/) [David Olusoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/) > [1819 was a year of hunger, mass unemployment, political repression and murderous, state-sanctioned violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/1819-was-a-year-of-hunger-mass-unemployment-political-repression-and/) [David Olusoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/) > [Whether we like it or not, there are moments in history when pessimism is the appropriate response.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/whether-we-like-it-or-not-there-are-moments-in-history-when-pessimism/) [David Olusoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/) > [In the case of the second world war the distorting factor is not poetry but our seemingly insatiable need to view the war through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/in-the-case-of-the-second-world-war-the-distorting-factor-is-not/) [David Olusoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/) > [I disagreed with my teachers on pretty much everything, including what grades I was going to get at A-level. I was sure I'd pass,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/i-disagreed-with-my-teachers-on-pretty-much-everything-including-what/) [David Olusoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/) > [Democratically elected governments meekly requesting giant corporations to pay pitifully low levels of tax on their enormous profits is not a good look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/democratically-elected-governments-meekly-requesting-giant/) [David Olusoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/) > [At 18, I stood in the Louvre in front of the paintings that TV had first shown me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/at-18-i-stood-in-the-louvre-in-front-of-the-paintings-that-tv-had/) [David Olusoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/) > [I have met other black and mixed-race people who were victims of racism, often far worse than anything I experienced, and who have taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/i-have-met-other-black-and-mixed-race-people-who-were-victims-of/) [David Olusoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/) > [The great untruth around which everything pivots is the idea that the defenders of these statues are the defenders of history and truth; while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/the-great-untruth-around-which-everything-pivots-is-the-idea-that-the/) [David Olusoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/) > [The age of national leaders, or candidates for high office, has never been automatically regarded as an issue for concern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/the-age-of-national-leaders-or-candidates-for-high-office-has-never/) [David Olusoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/) > [Humans are pattern-seeking animals, consciously and subconsciously imposing designs and theories on to past events. We do this in both our private lives and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/humans-are-pattern-seeking-animals-consciously-and-subconsciously/) [David Olusoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/) [Explore all 100 David Olusoga quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/) ## More Black people 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/) > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [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/) > [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/) > [Black Privilege is a concrete motive that black people benefit from, such as racism but racism on whites. Black people don't know it but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/black-privilege-is-a-concrete-motive-that-black-people-benefit-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Acknowledging that my skin was, in fact, Cocoa as it is, would have destroyed their narrative about who I really was. Therefore they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitta-xinindlu/acknowledging-that-my-skin-was-in-fact-cocoa-as-it-is-would-have/) [Mitta Xinindlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitta-xinindlu/) > [Well of course there's been a great deal of progress over the last 40 years. We don't have laws that segregate black people within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-davis/well-of-course-there-s-been-a-great-deal-of-progress-over-the-last-40/) [Angela Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-davis/) > [Adam Clayton Powell's entire political career has to be looked at in the entire context of the American history and the history of, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/adam-clayton-powell-s-entire-political-career-has-to-be-looked-at-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [What would America be like if we loved black people as much as we loved black culture?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amandla-stenberg/what-would-america-be-like-if-we-loved-black-people-as-much-as-we/) [Amandla Stenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amandla-stenberg/) > [“Any ministry to black people which is not designed to effect their empowerment is designed to perpetuate their enslavement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/any-ministry-to-black-people-which-is-not-designed-to-effect-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All black people who are even minimally conscious, black people who have ever experienced Europe's technological power crusading in the vanguard of a civilizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-nkosi/all-black-people-who-are-even-minimally-conscious-black-people-who/) [Lewis Nkosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-nkosi/) > [Even during my youth, I can recall very few black people living on any kind of public assistance. People were working, doing some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-smith/even-during-my-youth-i-can-recall-very-few-black-people-living-on-any/) [Ed Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-smith/) > [There is no one American beauty or just one beautiful color in the pantheon, especially in regards to black people - there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/latanya-richardson/there-is-no-one-american-beauty-or-just-one-beautiful-color-in-the/) [LaTanya Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/latanya-richardson/) > [Saying women aren't funny is now like saying Asians can't drive or saying black people have bad credit. It's just really, like, so obsolete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-cummings/saying-women-aren-t-funny-is-now-like-saying-asians-can-t-drive-or/) [Whitney Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-cummings/) > [It's so Canada. On some level, you laugh, but on another level, it's just depressing. We pride ourselves: We're not like the bad old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-backhouse/it-s-so-canada-on-some-level-you-laugh-but-on-another-level-it-s-just/) [Constance Backhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-backhouse/) [Browse all 1,587 Black people quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Black people are expected to be passive citizens, good immigrants, mute and grateful.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Olusoga" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/black-people-are-expected-to-be-passive-citizens-good-immigrants-mute/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Black people" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/black-people-are-expected-to-be-passive-citizens-good-immigrants-mute/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/david-olusoga-5812_black-people_black-people-are-expected-to-be-passive_3203338.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/david-olusoga-5812_black-people_black-people-are-expected-to-be-passive_3203338.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/david-olusoga-5812_black-people_black-people-are-expected-to-be-passive_3203338.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Black people are expected to be passive citizens, good immigrants, mute and grateful.” — David Olusoga", "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": "David Olusoga", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Black people are expected to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/black-people-are-expected-to-be-passive-citizens-good-immigrants-mute/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/black-people-are-expected-to-be-passive-citizens-good-immigrants-mute/#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 } } ] } ```