--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only thing I really feel is necessary…" description: "\"The only thing I really feel is necessary is that the black people, not only in Mississippi, will have to actually upset this applecart. What I mean by..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e06/fannie-lou-hamer-3999_america_the-only-thing-i-really-feel-is-necessar_3043839.jpg" --- # The only thing I really feel is necessary is that the… ![“The only thing I really feel is necessary is that the black people, not only in Mississippi, will have to actually upset this applecart. What I mean by that is, so many things are under the cover that will have to be swept out and shown to this whole world, not just to America. This thing they say…” quote by Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e06/fannie-lou-hamer-3999_america_the-only-thing-i-really-feel-is-necessar_3043839.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e06/fannie-lou-hamer-3999_america_the-only-thing-i-really-feel-is-necessar_3043839.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e06/fannie-lou-hamer-3999_america_the-only-thing-i-really-feel-is-necessar_3043839.jpg) > “The only thing I really feel is necessary is that the black people, not only in Mississippi, will have to actually upset this applecart. What I mean by that is, so many things are under the cover that will have to be swept out and shown to this whole world, not just to America. This thing they say of "the land of the free and the home of the brave" is all on paper. It doesn't really mean anything to us. The only way we can make this thing a reality in America is to do all we can to destroy this system and bring this out to the light that has been under the cover all these years.” [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She argues that systemic racism is hidden beneath patriotic rhetoric and must be exposed and dismantled for true freedom. **In simple terms:** Racism is hidden; we must reveal and destroy it. Key Takeaway Expose injustice and act to dismantle oppressive systems. Themes civil rights justice exposure activism systemic racism Mood determined urgent hopeful Type political activist inspirational When to use this quote - grassroots organizing - legal reform - media campaigns - education initiatives - community solidarity Key Concepts structural inequality racial oppression public accountability Questions to Reflect On - How can we uncover hidden injustices? - What strategies effectively dismantle systemic oppression? A Different Perspective Change requires collective action and may face violent backlash. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Black people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-people/) [Brave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Land of the free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/land-of-the-free/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Mississippi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mississippi/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Whole world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [The only thing I really feel is necessary is that the black people, not only in Mississippi, will have to actually upset this applecart.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/the-only-thing-i-really-feel-is-necessary-is-that-the-black-people/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [What I really feel is necessary is that the black people in this country wil have to upset this apple cart. We can no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/what-i-really-feel-is-necessary-is-that-the-black-people-in-this/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [Either America will destroy ignorance or ignorance will destroy the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/either-america-will-destroy-ignorance-or-ignorance-will-destroy-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Did man, after his first inroad into South America, destroy, as has been suggested, the unwieldy Megatherium and the other Edentata?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/did-man-after-his-first-inroad-into-south-america-destroy-as-has-been/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Can we get out of this system something good for us? We could, if we were united with an intelligent self-interest that we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/can-we-get-out-of-this-system-something-good-for-us-we-could-if-we/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [It was necessary, as a black historian, to have a personal agenda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hope-franklin/it-was-necessary-as-a-black-historian-to-have-a-personal-agenda/) [John Hope Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hope-franklin/) > [In America, the first thing people say is, 'What do you do?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-helberg/in-america-the-first-thing-people-say-is-what-do-you-do/) [Simon Helberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-helberg/) > [What really drives me mad about art is that, in America, the only thing you can do is to take it apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/what-really-drives-me-mad-about-art-is-that-in-america-the-only-thing/) M.I.A > [I know people don't like America very much, but the one thing it's very good on is local government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-brooke/i-know-people-don-t-like-america-very-much-but-the-one-thing-it-s/) [Heather Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-brooke/) > [I don't want to speak for my movies; you could say my movies are just completely silly and dumb, but in the case of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-mckay/i-don-t-want-to-speak-for-my-movies-you-could-say-my-movies-are-just-2/) [Adam McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-mckay/) > [I think I must be one of the only people who hasn't done the whole let's-crack-America thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-macdonald/i-think-i-must-be-one-of-the-only-people-who-hasn-t-done-the-whole/) [Amy Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-macdonald/) > [ All of this is on account we want to register \[sic\], to become first-class citizens, and if the Freedom Democratic Party is not seated… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/all-of-this-is-on-account-we-want-to-register-sic-to-become-first/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [Is this America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/is-this-america-the-land-of-the-free-and-the-home-of-the-brave-where/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [I saw in Chicago, on the street where I was visiting my sister-in-law, this "Urban Renewal" and it means one thing: "Negro removal." But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/i-saw-in-chicago-on-the-street-where-i-was-visiting-my-sister-in-law/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [You know what really made me sick? I was in Washington, D.C. at another time reading in a paper where the U.S. gives Byron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/you-know-what-really-made-me-sick-i-was-in-washington-d-c-at-another/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) ## More by Fannie Lou Hamer > [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/) > [You know what really made me sick? I was in Washington, D.C. at another time reading in a paper where the U.S. gives Byron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/you-know-what-really-made-me-sick-i-was-in-washington-d-c-at-another/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [It was the 31st of August in 1962 that eighteen of us traveled twenty-six miles to the county courthouse in Indianola to try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/it-was-the-31st-of-august-in-1962-that-eighteen-of-us-traveled-twenty/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/i-am-sick-and-tired-of-being-sick-and-tired/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [ I met one child there eleven years old, speaking three languages \[in Guinea\]. He could speak English, French and Malinke. Speaking my language actually… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/i-met-one-child-there-eleven-years-old-speaking-three-languages-in/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [ ... some of my people could have been left \[in Africa\] and are living there. And I can't understand them and they don't know… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/some-of-my-people-could-have-been-left-in-africa-and-are-living-there/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [I saw in Chicago, on the street where I was visiting my sister-in-law, this "Urban Renewal" and it means one thing: "Negro removal." But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/i-saw-in-chicago-on-the-street-where-i-was-visiting-my-sister-in-law/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [We didnt come all this way for no two seats when all of us is tired,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-didnt-come-all-this-way-for-no-two-seats-when-all-of-us-is-tired/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [The Mississippi is not the only river. There's the Tallahatchie and the Big Black. People have been put in the river year after year,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/the-mississippi-is-not-the-only-river-there-s-the-tallahatchie-and/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [I was in jail when Medgar Evers was murdered and nothing, I mean nothing has been done about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/i-was-in-jail-when-medgar-evers-was-murdered-and-nothing-i-mean/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [“Whether you have a Ph. D. or no D. we're in this bag together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/whether-you-have-a-ph-d-or-no-d-we-re-in-this-bag-together/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [What I really feel is necessary is that the black people in this country wil have to upset this apple cart. We can no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/what-i-really-feel-is-necessary-is-that-the-black-people-in-this/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [One day I know the struggle will change. There's got to be a change-not only for Mississippi, not only for the people in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/one-day-i-know-the-struggle-will-change-there-s-got-to-be-a-change/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [A black woman's body was never hers alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/a-black-woman-s-body-was-never-hers-alone/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [With the people, for the people, by the people. I crack up when I hear it; I say, with the handful, for the handful,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/with-the-people-for-the-people-by-the-people-i-crack-up-when-i-hear/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) [Explore all 118 Fannie Lou Hamer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. 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This thing they say of \"the land of the free and the home of the brave\" is all on paper. It doesn't really mean anything to us. 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