--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We shall have our manhood. We shall have…" description: "\"We shall have our manhood. We shall have it or the earth will be leveled by our attempts to gain it.\" — Eldridge Cleaver" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/684/eldridge-cleaver-15004_earth_we-shall-have-our-manhood-we-shall-have_1454695.jpg" --- # We shall have our manhood. We shall have it or the earth… ![“We shall have our manhood. We shall have it or the earth will be leveled by our attempts to gain it.” quote by Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/684/eldridge-cleaver-15004_earth_we-shall-have-our-manhood-we-shall-have_1454695.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/684/eldridge-cleaver-15004_earth_we-shall-have-our-manhood-we-shall-have_1454695.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/684/eldridge-cleaver-15004_earth_we-shall-have-our-manhood-we-shall-have_1454695.jpg) > “We shall have our manhood. We shall have it or the earth will be leveled by our attempts to gain it.” [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The pursuit of masculine identity drives extreme actions, even destructive ones, if denied. **In simple terms:** Manhood obsession can cause destructive extremes. Key Takeaway Beware of letting identity define actions. Themes identity masculinity extremism political activism Mood intense defiant Type political philosophical When to use this quote - political protests - personal crises - social movements Key Concepts Power dynamics masculine ideals radicalism Questions to Reflect On - What drives your need for validation? - How can identity be expressed healthily? A Different Perspective Such zeal can lead to violence and loss of humanity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Earth Leveled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth-leveled-5239879/) [Gains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gains/) [Manhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manhood/) [Manhood Shall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manhood-shall-3777075/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Shall Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shall-earth-691236/) [Shall Manhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shall-manhood-5239878/) ## Related quotes > [Few men can be said to have inimitable excellencies: let us watch them in their progress from infancy to manhood, and we shall soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-clarke/few-men-can-be-said-to-have-inimitable-excellencies-let-us-watch-them/) [Adam Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-clarke/) > [Let us have an education, that shall practically develop our thinking faculties and manhood; and then, and only then, shall we be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-delany/let-us-have-an-education-that-shall-practically-develop-our-thinking/) [Martin Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-delany/) > [If by excessive labor we die before reaching the average age of man, worn out in the Master's service, then glory be to God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/if-by-excessive-labor-we-die-before-reaching-the-average-age-of-man/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Lord, where shall I find you? 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You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cannon/one-thing-about-being-a-stand-up-is-it-s-a-one-man-show-you-gotta-do/) [Nick Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cannon/) > [Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name! All wars are wars among thieves who are too cowardly to fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/poor-human-nature-what-horrible-crimes-have-been-committed-in-thy/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [“A man's life is about keeping rules, breaking them, and making new ones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogwo-david-emenike/a-man-s-life-is-about-keeping-rules-breaking-them-and-making-new-ones/) [Ogwo David Emenike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogwo-david-emenike/) > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-o-connell/my-days-the-blossom-of-my-youth-and-the-flower-of-my-manhood-have/) [Daniel O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-o-connell/) ## More by Eldridge Cleaver > [The myth of the strong black woman is the other side of the coin of the myth of the beautiful dumb blonde.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/the-myth-of-the-strong-black-woman-is-the-other-side-of-the-coin-of/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [In the increasingly mechanized, automated, cybernated environment of the modern world a cold, bodiless world of wheels, smooth plastic surfaces, tubes, pushbuttons, transistors, computers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/in-the-increasingly-mechanized-automated-cybernated-environment-of/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [If God himself wills such misery on people whom I love, then I say I will deal with him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/if-god-himself-wills-such-misery-on-people-whom-i-love-then-i-say-i/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [“I may even swagger a little, and, as I read in a book somewhere, 'push myself forward like a train.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/i-may-even-swagger-a-little-and-as-i-read-in-a-book-somewhere-push/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [The most revolutionary statement in history is "Love thine enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/the-most-revolutionary-statement-in-history-is-love-thine-enemy/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [I know that the black man's sick attitude toward the white woman is a revolutionary sickness: it keeps him perpetually out of harmony with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/i-know-that-the-black-man-s-sick-attitude-toward-the-white-woman-is-a/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [Americans think of themselves collectively as a huge rescue squad on twenty-four hour call to any spot on the globe where dispute and conflict…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/americans-think-of-themselves-collectively-as-a-huge-rescue-squad-on/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [With all its faults, the American political system is the freest and most democratic in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/with-all-its-faults-the-american-political-system-is-the-freest-and/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [I've gone beyond civil rights and human rights to creation rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/i-ve-gone-beyond-civil-rights-and-human-rights-to-creation-rights/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [“If you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/if-you-are-not-a-part-of-the-solution-you-are-a-part-of-the-problem/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [“Respect commands itself and it can neither be given nor withheld when it is due.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/respect-commands-itself-and-it-can-neither-be-given-nor-withheld-when/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [The racist conscience of America is such that murder does not register as murder really, unless the victim is white... blacks knew that white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/the-racist-conscience-of-america-is-such-that-murder-does-not/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [Every time I embrace a black woman I’m embracing slavery, and when I put my arms around a white woman, well, I’m hugging freedom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/every-time-i-embrace-a-black-woman-i-m-embracing-slavery-and-when-i/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [The price of hating other human beings is loving oneself less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldridge-cleaver/the-price-of-hating-other-human-beings-is-loving-oneself-less/) [Eldridge Cleaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldridge-cleaver/) > [“I have tried to mislead you. 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