--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The idea that blacks, or anyone for that…" description: "\"“The idea that blacks, or anyone for that matter, need the government to get ahead in life is despicable. And even more important, this idea is a failu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/elbert-guillory-40844_blacks_the-idea-that-blacks-or-anyone-for-that_1189339.jpg" --- # The idea that blacks, or anyone for that matter, need the… ![“The idea that blacks, or anyone for that matter, need the government to get ahead in life is despicable. And even more important, this idea is a failure. Our communities are just as poor as they’ve always been. Our schools continue to fail children. Our prisons are filled with young black men who…” quote by Elbert Guillory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/elbert-guillory-40844_blacks_the-idea-that-blacks-or-anyone-for-that_1189339.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/elbert-guillory-40844_blacks_the-idea-that-blacks-or-anyone-for-that_1189339.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/elbert-guillory-40844_blacks_the-idea-that-blacks-or-anyone-for-that_1189339.jpg) > ““The idea that blacks, or anyone for that matter, need the government to get ahead in life is despicable. And even more important, this idea is a failure. Our communities are just as poor as they’ve always been. Our schools continue to fail children. Our prisons are filled with young black men who should be at home being fathers. Our self-initiative and our self-reliance have been sacrificed in exchange for allegiance to our overseers who control us by making us dependent on them.”” [Elbert Guillory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-guillory/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Relying on government aid undermines personal responsibility and community self‑reliance, perpetuating systemic failures. **In simple terms:** Dependence on aid weakens self‑reliance. Key Takeaway Promote self‑initiative over reliance on aid. Themes politics social justice self‑reliance Mood critical reflective Type analytical provocative When to use this quote - education reform - prison reform - community development - entrepreneurship Key Concepts government dependency community empowerment systemic inequality Questions to Reflect On - How can communities balance aid with empowerment? - What policies support self‑reliance? A Different Perspective Government programs can provide essential safety nets in crises. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-men-275532/) [Blacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blacks/) [Blacks Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blacks-matter-3523272/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Fail Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fail-children-2825742/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Idea Blacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea-blacks-1682473/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Need Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-government/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [I think the idea is now for blacks to write about the history of our music. It's time for that, because whites have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dizzy-gillespie/i-think-the-idea-is-now-for-blacks-to-write-about-the-history-of-our/) [Dizzy Gillespie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dizzy-gillespie/) > [People fail you, children disappoint you, thieves break in, moths corrupt, but an Order of the British Empire goes on for ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/people-fail-you-children-disappoint-you-thieves-break-in-moths/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [We deprive our children, our charges, of persistence. What I am trying to say is that we need to fail, children need to fail,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/we-deprive-our-children-our-charges-of-persistence-what-i-am-trying/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [We can glut ourselves with how-to-raise children information . . . strive to become more mature and aware but none of this will spare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-viorst/we-can-glut-ourselves-with-how-to-raise-children-information-strive/) [Judith Viorst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-viorst/) > [We fail our children if we say, 'Don't do as I do, but do as I say'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/we-fail-our-children-if-we-say-don-t-do-as-i-do-but-do-as-i-say/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [As a result of the absence and weakness of black men, blacks have allowed every ungodly thing to influence their communities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-lee-peterson/as-a-result-of-the-absence-and-weakness-of-black-men-blacks-have/) [Jesse Lee Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-lee-peterson/) > [“…in recent history the Democrat Party has created the illusion that their agenda and their policies are what’s best for black people. Somehow it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-guillory/in-recent-history-the-democrat-party-has-created-the-illusion-that/) [Elbert Guillory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-guillory/) > [The kinds of people we need in government are precisely the kinds of people who are most reluctant to go into government -- people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-kinds-of-people-we-need-in-government-are-precisely-the-kinds-of/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [We recognise the need for government to provide a clear and stable regulatory framework so as to release the investment power of business in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gardiner/we-recognise-the-need-for-government-to-provide-a-clear-and-stable/) [Barry Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gardiner/) > [We need to get the government out of the way. Inflation hits the middle class and the poor the most. Those are the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/we-need-to-get-the-government-out-of-the-way-inflation-hits-the/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Can we understand - just for the record, we do need the government for a lot of big ticket items.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/can-we-understand-just-for-the-record-we-do-need-the-government-for-a/) [Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/) > [The need for Government is the need for force; where force is unnecessary, there is no need for Government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-wilder-lane/the-need-for-government-is-the-need-for-force-where-force-is/) [Rose Wilder Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-wilder-lane/) > [We need a government, alas, because of the nature of humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/we-need-a-government-alas-because-of-the-nature-of-humans/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [What we need is a government with authority but without authoritarianism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jair-bolsonaro/what-we-need-is-a-government-with-authority-but-without/) [Jair Bolsonaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jair-bolsonaro/) > [Hyperloop is a decades-long effort. You're moving steel and reshaping physical things, so you need government to help you build.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shervin-pishevar/hyperloop-is-a-decades-long-effort-you-re-moving-steel-and-reshaping/) [Shervin Pishevar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shervin-pishevar/) ## More by Elbert Guillory > [We have to convince people that the handouts – just taking a few little handouts, where you have a subsistent living, where you never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-guillory/we-have-to-convince-people-that-the-handouts-just-taking-a-few-little/) [Elbert Guillory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-guillory/) > [“The idea of freedom is complex and it is all-encompassing. It’s the idea that the economy must remain free of government persuasion. 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Somehow it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-guillory/in-recent-history-the-democrat-party-has-created-the-illusion-that/) [Elbert Guillory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-guillory/) > [You see, in recent history, the Democrat party has created the illusion that their agenda and their policies are what’s best for black people,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-guillory/you-see-in-recent-history-the-democrat-party-has-created-the-illusion/) [Elbert Guillory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-guillory/) [Explore all 10 Elbert Guillory quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-guillory/) ## More Blacks quotes > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. 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They believe in putting the right food in their bodies. And they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-adams/well-many-blacks-who-are-vegan-are-vegan-for-health-reasons-they/) [Eric Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-adams/) > [Happy Black History Month everyone. I challenge you blacks to change how other races view us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happy-black-history-month-everyone-i-challenge-you-blacks-to-change/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What you want, a Bentley? Fur coat? A diamond chain? All you blacks want all the same things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/what-you-want-a-bentley-fur-coat-a-diamond-chain-all-you-blacks-want/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [“In the context of the Negro problem neither whites nor blacks, for excellent reasons of their own, have the faintest desire to look back;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-the-context-of-the-negro-problem-neither-whites-nor-blacks-for/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“In America the magazines in which one can frequently publish stories or poems about Negroes are very few, and most of these do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/in-america-the-magazines-in-which-one-can-frequently-publish-stories/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [“Since neither black animosity nor the Left’s falsehood of “racial tensions” is based on the actual behavior of the vast majority of white Americans,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/since-neither-black-animosity-nor-the-left-s-falsehood-of-racial/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [The poor are the blacks of Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/the-poor-are-the-blacks-of-europe/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) [Browse all 286 Blacks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blacks/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The idea that blacks, or anyone for that matter, need the government to get ahead in life is despicable. 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