--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We shall be free only together, black and…" description: "\"We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall survive only together, black and white. We can be human only together, black and white.\" — De..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/desmond-tutu-442_black_we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and_11306.jpg" --- # We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall… ![“We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall survive only together, black and white. We can be human only together, black and white.” quote by Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/desmond-tutu-442_black_we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and_11306.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/desmond-tutu-442_black_we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and_11306.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/desmond-tutu-442_black_we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and_11306.jpg) > “We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall survive only together, black and white. We can be human only together, black and white.” [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True freedom and survival require solidarity across racial lines; humanity is realized only through mutual recognition and shared destiny. **In simple terms:** Unity across races is essential for freedom. Key Takeaway Freedom depends on collective unity. Themes solidarity racial equality humanism interdependence social justice Mood hopeful determined Type proverbial inspirational When to use this quote - civil rights movements - community reconciliation initiatives - multicultural workplaces - educational diversity programs Key Concepts racial unity collective identity shared destiny Practical Applications - designing inclusive policies - facilitating cross‑cultural dialogues Questions to Reflect On - How does shared identity shape societal resilience? - What barriers prevent true racial unity? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black and white](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-and-white/) [Black white](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-white/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Shall Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shall-free-368014/) [Shall Survive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shall-survive-368015/) [Social justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-justice/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White Shall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-shall-368016/) ## Related quotes > [We have a vision of South Africa in which black and white shall live and work together as equals in conditions of peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/we-have-a-vision-of-south-africa-in-which-black-and-white-shall-live/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) > [The fittest of the fittest shall survive !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/the-fittest-of-the-fittest-shall-survive/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [I do not intend, we do not intend, that any party shall survive, if we can help it, that will lay the confiscating hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-parks-bland/i-do-not-intend-we-do-not-intend-that-any-party-shall-survive-if-we/) [Richard Parks Bland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-parks-bland/) > [“Be brave! Let’s remember our duty and perform it without complaint. There will be a way out. God has never deserted our people. Through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/be-brave-let-s-remember-our-duty-and-perform-it-without-complaint/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [It's the time of God's grace, we shall survive. Live by the truth and the truth shall set you free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cosmas-sila/it-s-the-time-of-god-s-grace-we-shall-survive-live-by-the-truth-and/) [Cosmas Sila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cosmas-sila/) > [The art of letters will come to an end before A.D. 2000. I shall survive as a curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-art-of-letters-will-come-to-an-end-before-a-d-2000-i-shall/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“was asked, ‘Can you bring six million Jews to Palestine?’ I replied, ‘No.’ . . . The old ones will pass. They will bear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hecht/was-asked-can-you-bring-six-million-jews-to-palestine-i-replied-no/) [Ben Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hecht/) > [When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in black & white you photograph their souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-photograph-people-in-color-you-photograph-their-clothes-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am black and white.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-wilfried-tsonga/i-am-black-and-white/) [Jo-Wilfried Tsonga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-wilfried-tsonga/) > [Sometimes we see the world in black and white; other times in grey. I often view the world in white. Why? Because It have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-we-see-the-world-in-black-and-white-other-times-in-grey-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Things are not quite so simple always as black and white.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/things-are-not-quite-so-simple-always-as-black-and-white/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [The most interesting thing about being alive is that there is no black and white; there are many shades of gray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/the-most-interesting-thing-about-being-alive-is-that-there-is-no/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [In the '70s, in Britain, if you were going to do serious photography, you were obliged to work in black-and-white. Color was the palette…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-parr/in-the-70s-in-britain-if-you-were-going-to-do-serious-photography-you/) [Martin Parr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-parr/) > [When your life feels black and white make sure that you dream in color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rytmz-ryme/when-your-life-feels-black-and-white-make-sure-that-you-dream-in-color/) [Rytmz Ryme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rytmz-ryme/) > [Which is probably the reason why I work exclusively in black and white... to highlight that contrast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-nimoy/which-is-probably-the-reason-why-i-work-exclusively-in-black-and/) [Leonard Nimoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-nimoy/) ## More by Desmond Tutu > [Each of us is precious to God because each of us has their name written on the palms of God's hands. And God says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/each-of-us-is-precious-to-god-because-each-of-us-has-their-name/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Freedom and liberty lose out by default because good people are not vigilant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/freedom-and-liberty-lose-out-by-default-because-good-people-are-not/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Many people would be surprised that, in fact, I'm quite shy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/many-people-would-be-surprised-that-in-fact-i-m-quite-shy/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Too many people think that reconciliation means you soft-pedal differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/too-many-people-think-that-reconciliation-means-you-soft-pedal/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Our Christian faith is actually very subversive of the conventional notion of success - the notion that what invests a person with worth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/our-christian-faith-is-actually-very-subversive-of-the-conventional/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Every situation of justice is an occasion where someone is being humiliated and they want to restore their dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/every-situation-of-justice-is-an-occasion-where-someone-is-being/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Race should not be used to claim privileges and rights for one group, exclusively, which are denied other different groups. Then that is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/race-should-not-be-used-to-claim-privileges-and-rights-for-one-group/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [People are able to justify immense cruelty and say that it is something that is sanctioned by their faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/people-are-able-to-justify-immense-cruelty-and-say-that-it-is/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [South Africa, so utterly improbably, is a beacon of hope in a dark and troubled world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/south-africa-so-utterly-improbably-is-a-beacon-of-hope-in-a-dark-and/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [I don't often want to speak. I try to be a reasonable person and to be diplomatic, but you go to that place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/i-don-t-often-want-to-speak-i-try-to-be-a-reasonable-person-and-to-be/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“child of God, known by name and whose very hairs are numbered. Praise and adore God and thank him for ever and ever. Amen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/child-of-god-known-by-name-and-whose-very-hairs-are-numbered-praise/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [To remain neutral in situations of injustice is to be complicit in that injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/to-remain-neutral-in-situations-of-injustice-is-to-be-complicit-in/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [It's a fantastic thing that from moment to the next moment if God were to have stopped for a split second we would disintegrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/it-s-a-fantastic-thing-that-from-moment-to-the-next-moment-if-god/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Once lost, trust can only be regained if we are as good as our word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/once-lost-trust-can-only-be-regained-if-we-are-as-good-as-our-word/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [People sometimes strive after and think they will find deep satisfaction for their psyches in wealth, sex or drugs, but then find that ultimately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/people-sometimes-strive-after-and-think-they-will-find-deep/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) [Explore all 558 Desmond Tutu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## 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": "We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall survive only together, black and white. We can be human only together, black and white.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Desmond Tutu" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and-white-we-shall-survive-only/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Black" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and-white-we-shall-survive-only/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/desmond-tutu-442_black_we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and_11306.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/desmond-tutu-442_black_we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and_11306.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/desmond-tutu-442_black_we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and_11306.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall survive only together, black and white. We can be…” — Desmond Tutu", "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": "Desmond Tutu", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We shall be free only together,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and-white-we-shall-survive-only/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and-white-we-shall-survive-only/#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 } } ] } ```