--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They - you know, when we walked in - when…" description: "\"They - you know, when we walked in - when I walked in with the two white men that had carried me down - and they cursed me all the way down. They would..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb9/fannie-lou-hamer-3999_cursed_they-you-know-when-we-walked-in-when-i-w_2949076.jpg" --- # They - you know, when we walked in - when I walked in with… ![“They - you know, when we walked in - when I walked in with the two white men that had carried me down - and they cursed me all the way down. They would ask me questions, and when I would try to answer, they would tell me to hush.” quote by Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb9/fannie-lou-hamer-3999_cursed_they-you-know-when-we-walked-in-when-i-w_2949076.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb9/fannie-lou-hamer-3999_cursed_they-you-know-when-we-walked-in-when-i-w_2949076.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb9/fannie-lou-hamer-3999_cursed_they-you-know-when-we-walked-in-when-i-w_2949076.jpg) > “They - you know, when we walked in - when I walked in with the two white men that had carried me down - and they cursed me all the way down. They would ask me questions, and when I would try to answer, they would tell me to hush.” [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. Systemic oppression silences marginalized voices, forcing them into compliance and secrecy. **In simple terms:** Oppression forces silence and secrecy. Key Takeaway Speak out and support those silenced. Themes civil rights racism silencing activism Mood empowering somber Type activist historical When to use this quote - community organizing - education reform - legal advocacy - personal storytelling Key Concepts social justice power dynamics resistance Questions to Reflect On - What can you do to amplify unheard voices? - How does silence affect personal identity? A Different Perspective Silencing can be internalized, making resistance harder. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions/) ## Related quotes > [“There seemed to be no horses nor animals of any kind; the men carried things around in little green carts, which they pushed before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-frank-baum/there-seemed-to-be-no-horses-nor-animals-of-any-kind-the-men-carried/) [L. Frank Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-frank-baum/) > [For the mission's sake, for our country's sake, and the sake of the men who carried the Division's colors in past battles - carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mattis/for-the-mission-s-sake-for-our-country-s-sake-and-the-sake-of-the-men/) [Jim Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mattis/) > [“Caine took another breath, then kneeled next to the first yakuza. He patted the body down and removed a small but heavy Kimber automatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-warren/caine-took-another-breath-then-kneeled-next-to-the-first-yakuza-he/) [Andrew Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-warren/) > [It was very sad, he thought. The things men carried inside. The things men did or felt they had to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/it-was-very-sad-he-thought-the-things-men-carried-inside-the-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Men who never get carried away should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/men-who-never-get-carried-away-should-be/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [Golf is a game where white men can dress up as black pimps and get away with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/golf-is-a-game-where-white-men-can-dress-up-as-black-pimps-and-get/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [“One comes across white men occasionally who suffer under the delusion that China is not a civilized country. Such men have forgotten what constitutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/one-comes-across-white-men-occasionally-who-suffer-under-the-delusion/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [I have asked some of the great white chiefs where they get their authority to say to the Indian that he shall stay in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-have-asked-some-of-the-great-white-chiefs-where-they-get-their/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [For the most part, it's straight white men running these labels and publishing companies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-tranter/for-the-most-part-it-s-straight-white-men-running-these-labels-and/) [Justin Tranter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-tranter/) > [A lot of white men in the music industry are promoting and participating in black culture in a way that is pretty careless. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelela/a-lot-of-white-men-in-the-music-industry-are-promoting-and/) [Kelela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelela/) > [I would give up everything rather than have the blood of white men upon the hands of my people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-would-give-up-everything-rather-than-have-the-blood-of-white-men/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [If there's one thing white men have never had a problem with in this clubby, white marble enclave of Washington, it's getting pulled up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/if-there-s-one-thing-white-men-have-never-had-a-problem-with-in-this/) [Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/) > [This book, 'Stupid White Men,' has sold now over four million copies worldwide. Probably about half of that may be in the U.S. and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/this-book-stupid-white-men-has-sold-now-over-four-million-copies/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [Going to Columbia, the first thing I learned was 'safe space.' Every problem, they explained us, is because of white men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/park-yeon-mi/going-to-columbia-the-first-thing-i-learned-was-safe-space-every/) [Park Yeon-mi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/park-yeon-mi/) > [I don't doubt that straight white men have identity issues and identity complexes and struggle with defining themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/i-don-t-doubt-that-straight-white-men-have-identity-issues-and/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) ## 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 Cursed quotes > [You love what you do, you are cursed with it, and then you get known for being cursed with it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armand-assante/you-love-what-you-do-you-are-cursed-with-it-and-then-you-get-known/) [Armand Assante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armand-assante/) > [“He held his hands tightly together and cursed his daughter for bringing the terrible world, with its humiliation and longing, back to his door.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/he-held-his-hands-tightly-together-and-cursed-his-daughter-for/) [Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/) > [Anyone who makes the life of Jewish people difficult or grievous, as did the Pharaoh, as did Hitler, will be cursed by God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/anyone-who-makes-the-life-of-jewish-people-difficult-or-grievous-as/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [\[It is hard to know what is good luck and what isn't and therefore whether we should be happy or sad about it. Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelig-pliskin/it-is-hard-to-know-what-is-good-luck-and-what-isn-t-and-therefore/) [Zelig Pliskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelig-pliskin/) > [I have always been cursed or blessed with this inability to hide behind anything and to just say exactly what I am experiencing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-kowalczyk/i-have-always-been-cursed-or-blessed-with-this-inability-to-hide/) [Ed Kowalczyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-kowalczyk/) > [Too blessed to be stressed. Too blessed to be cursed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-matobo/too-blessed-to-be-stressed-too-blessed-to-be-cursed/) [Frank Matobo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-matobo/) > [“My heart almost vaulted out of my chest. I was snuggled against Ryan’s shoulder. We were burrowed under the cloak and sleeping bag, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-dogra/my-heart-almost-vaulted-out-of-my-chest-i-was-snuggled-against-ryan-s/) [Sam Dogra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-dogra/) > [ I cursed \[Larry Merchant\] out once, and I told him that he was a phony. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-holmes/i-cursed-larry-merchant-out-once-and-i-told-him-that-he-was-a-phony/) [Larry Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-holmes/) > [A Poem from Edna St. Vincent Millay: Grown-up Was it for this I uttered prayers, And sobbed and cursed and kicked the stairs, That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/a-poem-from-edna-st-vincent-millay-grown-up-was-it-for-this-i-uttered/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [Funny how all things people don’t understand seem to be ‘cursed’.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nnedi-okorafor/funny-how-all-things-people-don-t-understand-seem-to-be-cursed/) [Nnedi Okorafor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nnedi-okorafor/) > [Sometimes I feel I'm being animated, but it comes off differently. Unfortunately, I was cursed with these sleepy eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyatt-cenac/sometimes-i-feel-i-m-being-animated-but-it-comes-off-differently/) [Wyatt Cenac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyatt-cenac/) > [I'm a classic example of what can happen if you follow your inner voice. I was cursed with interests and some talent in many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-benedict/i-m-a-classic-example-of-what-can-happen-if-you-follow-your-inner/) [Dirk Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-benedict/) > [What cursed spirit of falsehood moveth priests to close themselves within stone walls for all their life, since Christ commanded all his apostles and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wycliffe/what-cursed-spirit-of-falsehood-moveth-priests-to-close-themselves/) [John Wycliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wycliffe/) > [Words are as they are taken, and things are as they are used. There are even cursed blessings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hall/words-are-as-they-are-taken-and-things-are-as-they-are-used-there-are/) [Joseph Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hall/) > [Blessed be those happy ages that were strangers to the dreadful fury of these devilish instruments of artillery, whose inventor I am satisfied is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/blessed-be-those-happy-ages-that-were-strangers-to-the-dreadful-fury/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) Browse all 443 Cursed quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They - you know, when we walked in - when I walked in with the two white men that had carried me down - and they cursed me all the way down. They would ask me questions, and when I would try to answer, they would tell me to hush.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fannie Lou Hamer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/they-you-know-when-we-walked-in-when-i-walked-in-with-the-two-white/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cursed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/they-you-know-when-we-walked-in-when-i-walked-in-with-the-two-white/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb9/fannie-lou-hamer-3999_cursed_they-you-know-when-we-walked-in-when-i-w_2949076.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb9/fannie-lou-hamer-3999_cursed_they-you-know-when-we-walked-in-when-i-w_2949076.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb9/fannie-lou-hamer-3999_cursed_they-you-know-when-we-walked-in-when-i-w_2949076.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They - you know, when we walked in - when I walked in with the two white men that had carried me down - and…” — Fannie Lou Hamer", "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": "Fannie Lou Hamer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "They - you know, when we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/they-you-know-when-we-walked-in-when-i-walked-in-with-the-two-white/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/they-you-know-when-we-walked-in-when-i-walked-in-with-the-two-white/#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 } } ] } ```