--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If whiteness were of no particular…" description: "\"If whiteness were of no particular advantage, then having a fuller color wheel of skin tones would be purely a matter of celebration. But whiteness - j..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/eric-liu-9463_advantage_if-whiteness-were-of-no-particular-advan_856500.jpg" --- # If whiteness were of no particular advantage, then having… ![“If whiteness were of no particular advantage, then having a fuller color wheel of skin tones would be purely a matter of celebration. But whiteness - just a drop of it - does still carry privilege. You learn that very young in America.” quote by Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/eric-liu-9463_advantage_if-whiteness-were-of-no-particular-advan_856500.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/eric-liu-9463_advantage_if-whiteness-were-of-no-particular-advan_856500.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/eric-liu-9463_advantage_if-whiteness-were-of-no-particular-advan_856500.jpg) > “If whiteness were of no particular advantage, then having a fuller color wheel of skin tones would be purely a matter of celebration. But whiteness - just a drop of it - does still carry privilege. You learn that very young in America.” [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Whiteness carries unearned advantage, making skin color a social hierarchy rather than mere celebration. **In simple terms:** Whiteness gives unearned advantage. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge skin‑color bias. Themes race privilege social justice Mood critical motivational Type sociopolitical educational When to use this quote - education reform - media representation - policy advocacy Key Concepts Systemic inequality identity politics intersectionality Questions to Reflect On - How does skin color affect opportunity? - What actions can reduce racial privilege? A Different Perspective Privilege is often invisible to those who benefit. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advantage/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Celebration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celebration/) [Celebration Whiteness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celebration-whiteness-807216/) [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Color wheel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color-wheel-34832/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Learn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular/) [Privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Skin tone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skin-tone/) [Skins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skins/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Tone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tone/) [Wheel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wheel/) [Wheels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wheels/) [Whiteness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whiteness/) [Whiteness Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whiteness-just-807215/) [Whiteness Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whiteness-particular-807214/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) ## Related quotes > [To challenge norms, presuppositions, practices in communities across this country - where the unconscious valorization and celebration of whiteness and conscious resistance to trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/to-challenge-norms-presuppositions-practices-in-communities-across/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [“Werewolf was soooooo in her color wheel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dakota-cassidy/werewolf-was-soooooo-in-her-color-wheel/) [Dakota Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dakota-cassidy/) > [While the 2013 color of the year, PANTONE 17-5641 Emerald, served as a symbol of growth, renewal and prosperity, Radiant Orchid reaches across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leatrice-eiseman/while-the-2013-color-of-the-year-pantone-17-5641-emerald-served-as-a/) [Leatrice Eiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leatrice-eiseman/) > [Colors close together on the color wheel are analogous and will make a calm room. Colors that are farther apart are complementary and add…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bromstad/colors-close-together-on-the-color-wheel-are-analogous-and-will-make/) [David Bromstad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bromstad/) > [Today he wore a burnt-orange shirt, black pants, and a tie that looked like a street fight at the south end of the color…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-reichs/today-he-wore-a-burnt-orange-shirt-black-pants-and-a-tie-that-looked/) [Kathy Reichs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-reichs/) > [All students need to know about color is the basic color wheel and complimentary colors. There are many books on color theory; do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-bongart/all-students-need-to-know-about-color-is-the-basic-color-wheel-and/) [Sergei Bongart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-bongart/) > [I've never been one for color theory or color wheels or undertone rules or anything like that. I don't know if my red lipstick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-weiss/i-ve-never-been-one-for-color-theory-or-color-wheels-or-undertone/) [Emily Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-weiss/) > [“A Letter To Say, "I'll See You Later" I remember just like it was yesterday the grapevine, clothesline, lilacs and peonies. I remember the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-strong/a-letter-to-say-i-ll-see-you-later-i-remember-just-like-it-was/) [Amanda Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-strong/) > [If half-black Barack Obama had decided years ago to call himself white - which his genes certainly entitled him to do - his story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/if-half-black-barack-obama-had-decided-years-ago-to-call-himself/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [“Mother knocked once on my door and walked in my room to see me on my bed with the book tight in my grasp.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-doyle/mother-knocked-once-on-my-door-and-walked-in-my-room-to-see-me-on-my/) [B.C. Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-doyle/) > [I'm a dark blonde, yes. I dyed my hair blue, then black, when I was 14. I thought the colour was more flattering and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-green/i-m-a-dark-blonde-yes-i-dyed-my-hair-blue-then-black-when-i-was-14-i/) [Eva Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-green/) > [“Melanin is an incomparable beauty. From the lightest to the darkest skin tone, Black women and Black girls are exquisite beauty in every shade.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-lahart/melanin-is-an-incomparable-beauty-from-the-lightest-to-the-darkest/) [Stephanie Lahart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-lahart/) > [“I’ll send the nurse in here in a minute, okay?” Waste of time , I thought. “Okay, but…do you think there’s anything we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ree-drummond/i-ll-send-the-nurse-in-here-in-a-minute-okay-waste-of-time-i-thought/) [Ree Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ree-drummond/) > [Who can now deny the loss of natural light, of skin tones, of real place, and common but precious things in our movies, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jay-epstein/who-can-now-deny-the-loss-of-natural-light-of-skin-tones-of-real/) [Edward Jay Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jay-epstein/) > [If the character is getting mad, getting upset or getting turned on, you're getting to see that in the facial tones and the skin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-rooker/if-the-character-is-getting-mad-getting-upset-or-getting-turned-on/) [Michael Rooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-rooker/) ## More by Eric Liu > [“There was an omnivorous intellect that won him the family sobriquet of Walking Encyclopedia.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/there-was-an-omnivorous-intellect-that-won-him-the-family-sobriquet/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [Have you ever watched someone become American? Last week, at a national citizenship conference I organize, thirty immigrants from 17 countries swore an oath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/have-you-ever-watched-someone-become-american-last-week-at-a-national/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [It turns out umpires and judges are not robots or traffic cameras, inertly monitoring deviations from a fixed zone of the permissible. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/it-turns-out-umpires-and-judges-are-not-robots-or-traffic-cameras/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [What we should celebrate more than diversity is what we do with it. How do we bring everyone in the tent and create something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/what-we-should-celebrate-more-than-diversity-is-what-we-do-with-it/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [“Far too many Americans are illiterate in power — what it is, how it operates and why some people have it. As a result,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/far-too-many-americans-are-illiterate-in-power-what-it-is-how-it/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [At the heart of our public morality is the idea that he who gives generously is most virtuous and morally praiseworthy; that there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/at-the-heart-of-our-public-morality-is-the-idea-that-he-who-gives/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [A basic assumption shapes most Americans’ mindset about labor: the belief that the death of unions isn’t my problem because I’m not in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/a-basic-assumption-shapes-most-americans-mindset-about-labor-the/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [Americans need to call on Boomers, in their next act onstage, to behave like grown-ups. And there is no better way for them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/americans-need-to-call-on-boomers-in-their-next-act-onstage-to-behave/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [Here's a proposal, offered only partly in jest: no resident of the United States, whether born here or abroad, should get to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/here-s-a-proposal-offered-only-partly-in-jest-no-resident-of-the/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [Like the 'little emperors' of one-child China, too many Boomers were taught early that the world was made (or saved) for their comfort and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/like-the-little-emperors-of-one-child-china-too-many-boomers-were/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [We're all better off...when we're all better off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/we-re-all-better-off-when-we-re-all-better-off/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [In the end no segregationist scheme has withstood the force of a simple idea: equality under law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/in-the-end-no-segregationist-scheme-has-withstood-the-force-of-a/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [From the right, you get demagogues shouting about brown-skinned anchor babies and clamoring to deport the undocumented. From the left, you get advocacy for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/from-the-right-you-get-demagogues-shouting-about-brown-skinned-anchor/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [You want to defend citizenship? Don't persecute or isolate those without papers. Just live like a citizen. That'd be a first-class way to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/you-want-to-defend-citizenship-don-t-persecute-or-isolate-those/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [In the end, a new Americanization movement can't just be about listing our privileges and immunities, which we catalog in our laws. It also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/in-the-end-a-new-americanization-movement-can-t-just-be-about-listing/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) [Explore all 72 Eric Liu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) ## More Advantage quotes > [Dogmatists have one advantage: they are poor listeners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/dogmatists-have-one-advantage-they-are-poor-listeners/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [All I ever wanted was an unfair advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-wynn/all-i-ever-wanted-was-an-unfair-advantage/) [Garrison Wynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-wynn/) > [Part of the advantage, and part of the result of trying to be a producer and director, are the practical things, you find. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/campbell-scott/part-of-the-advantage-and-part-of-the-result-of-trying-to-be-a/) [Campbell Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/campbell-scott/) > [I was born with a silver microphone in my mouth, and that was an advantage. My father wrote books and was also a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dimbleby/i-was-born-with-a-silver-microphone-in-my-mouth-and-that-was-an/) [Jonathan Dimbleby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dimbleby/) > [Like funny men, skilled diners are apparently perceived to have an evolutionary advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/like-funny-men-skilled-diners-are-apparently-perceived-to-have-an/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [For some reason when I decide to pursue something, I never have any fear that it won't happen. I think it's just ingrained in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-blatz/for-some-reason-when-i-decide-to-pursue-something-i-never-have-any/) [Kelly Blatz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-blatz/) > [I think I have good hands, so I try to use them to my advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bianca-andreescu/i-think-i-have-good-hands-so-i-try-to-use-them-to-my-advantage/) [Bianca Andreescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bianca-andreescu/) > [My influences are jazz, blues, European classical music; they are rock music and pop music. So many kinds of music. World music from different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rokia-traore/my-influences-are-jazz-blues-european-classical-music-they-are-rock/) [Rokia Traore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rokia-traore/) > [Baseball needs to put the steroids era behind it by having and enforcing tough rules against all kinds of artificial advantages, so that spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-olasky/baseball-needs-to-put-the-steroids-era-behind-it-by-having-and/) [Marvin Olasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-olasky/) > [Daily contact with some teachers is itself all-sided ethical education for the child without a spoken precept. Here, too, the real advantage of male…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/daily-contact-with-some-teachers-is-itself-all-sided-ethical/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [ If \[Donald\] Trump throws 20 million off of health care, that's going to be - if he handles this badly - and it's very… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/if-donald-trump-throws-20-million-off-of-health-care-that-s-going-to/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [Live in the world you inhabit. Look upon things as they are. Take them as you find them. Make the best of them. Turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/live-in-the-world-you-inhabit-look-upon-things-as-they-are-take-them/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [I always tell women that the fact that you're different and that you're noticed, because there are few of us in the tech industry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padmasree-warrior/i-always-tell-women-that-the-fact-that-you-re-different-and-that-you/) [Padmasree Warrior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padmasree-warrior/) [Browse all 3,503 Advantage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advantage/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If whiteness were of no particular advantage, then having a fuller color wheel of skin tones would be purely a matter of celebration. But whiteness - just a drop of it - does still carry privilege. You learn that very young in America.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eric Liu" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/if-whiteness-were-of-no-particular-advantage-then-having-a-fuller/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Advantage" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/if-whiteness-were-of-no-particular-advantage-then-having-a-fuller/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/eric-liu-9463_advantage_if-whiteness-were-of-no-particular-advan_856500.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/eric-liu-9463_advantage_if-whiteness-were-of-no-particular-advan_856500.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/eric-liu-9463_advantage_if-whiteness-were-of-no-particular-advan_856500.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If whiteness were of no particular advantage, then having a fuller color wheel of skin tones would be purely…” — Eric Liu", "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": "Eric Liu", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If whiteness were of no particular...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/if-whiteness-were-of-no-particular-advantage-then-having-a-fuller/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/if-whiteness-were-of-no-particular-advantage-then-having-a-fuller/#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 } } ] } ```