--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I belong to this race, and when it is…" description: "\"I belong to this race, and when it is down I belong to a down race; when it is up I belong to a risen race.\" — Frances Harper" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/frances-harper-23401_belong_i-belong-to-this-race-and-when-it-is-dow_523400.jpg" --- # I belong to this race, and when it is down I belong to a… ![“I belong to this race, and when it is down I belong to a down race; when it is up I belong to a risen race.” quote by Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/frances-harper-23401_belong_i-belong-to-this-race-and-when-it-is-dow_523400.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/frances-harper-23401_belong_i-belong-to-this-race-and-when-it-is-dow_523400.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/frances-harper-23401_belong_i-belong-to-this-race-and-when-it-is-dow_523400.jpg) > “I belong to this race, and when it is down I belong to a down race; when it is up I belong to a risen race.” [Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker ties personal identity to the fortunes of their community, feeling uplifted when it thrives and downcast when it suffers. **In simple terms:** Identity follows community success or failure. Key Takeaway Recognize how collective well‑being impacts self‑esteem. Themes identity community empathy Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - activism - community organizing - personal reflection - education - mental health Key Concepts social dynamics collective identity Questions to Reflect On - How does your community's health affect your self‑view? - What can you do to support it? A Different Perspective If the community fails, personal identity may feel lost. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [“At certain times I have no race. I am me. I belong to no race or time. I am the eternal feminine with its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/at-certain-times-i-have-no-race-i-am-me-i-belong-to-no-race-or-time-i/) [ZORA NEALE HURSTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I have no purpose to introduce political and social equality between the white and black races. There is physical difference between the two which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-have-no-purpose-to-introduce-political-and-social-equality-between/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Religion and race belong together. German man can only assimilate religious faith and religious thought with a German mind and in a German way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-schemm/religion-and-race-belong-together-german-man-can-only-assimilate/) Hans Schemm > [Imagine how terrifying it would be if we had to decide the beginnings of things for ourselves: as to what race we should belong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mabel-osgood-wright/imagine-how-terrifying-it-would-be-if-we-had-to-decide-the-beginnings/) [Mabel Osgood Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mabel-osgood-wright/) > [We belong to the race that knows Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-belong-to-the-race-that-knows-joseph/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Men have no special right because they belong to one race or another: the word man defines all rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/men-have-no-special-right-because-they-belong-to-one-race-or-another/) [Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) > [There are big and little truths, but all belong to the same race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/there-are-big-and-little-truths-but-all-belong-to-the-same-race/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > ["Racist" is a confusing word, and it should be clarified. Men have no special rights simply because they belong to one race or another.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/racist-is-a-confusing-word-and-it-should-be-clarified-men-have-no/) [Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) > [Most American Hispanics don't belong to one race, either. I keep telling kids that, when filling out forms, they should put "yes" to everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/most-american-hispanics-don-t-belong-to-one-race-either-i-keep/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [I belong to no race nor time. I am the eternal feminine with its string of beads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/i-belong-to-no-race-nor-time-i-am-the-eternal-feminine-with-its/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [“It's so awful and sad,” she once admitted to Tom Goodenough, “to belong to a race that no sane person believes in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norton/it-s-so-awful-and-sad-she-once-admitted-to-tom-goodenough-to-belong/) [Mary Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norton/) > [“We all may be living in different countries, geographical areas, and time zones but one thing which unites us all is that we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/we-all-may-be-living-in-different-countries-geographical-areas-and/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) > [I find myself continually falling back into wounds, wishes, terrors I thought I had risen beyond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/i-find-myself-continually-falling-back-into-wounds-wishes-terrors-i/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [...the number of saintly men has not yet risen to the level where the census makes them a separate statistical category.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stigler/the-number-of-saintly-men-has-not-yet-risen-to-the-level-where-the/) [George Stigler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stigler/) ## More by Frances Harper > [We are all bound up together in one great bundle of humanity, and society cannot trample on the weakest and feeblest of its members…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/we-are-all-bound-up-together-in-one-great-bundle-of-humanity-and/) [Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/) > [I find, by close observation, that the mothers are the levers which move in education. The men talk about it . . . but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/i-find-by-close-observation-that-the-mothers-are-the-levers-which/) [Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/) > [If we have had no past, it is well for us to look hopefully to the future - for the shadows bear the promise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/if-we-have-had-no-past-it-is-well-for-us-to-look-hopefully-to-the/) [Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/) > [I like the character of Moses. He is the first disunionist we read of in the Jewish Scriptures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/i-like-the-character-of-moses-he-is-the-first-disunionist-we-read-of/) [Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/) > [But two things are wanting in American civilization - a keener and deeper, broader and tenderer sense of justice - a sense of humanity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/but-two-things-are-wanting-in-american-civilization-a-keener-and/) [Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/) > [Every mother should endeavor to be a true artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/every-mother-should-endeavor-to-be-a-true-artist/) [Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/) > [I envy neither the heart nor the head of any legislator who has been born to an inheritance of privileges, who has behind him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/i-envy-neither-the-heart-nor-the-head-of-any-legislator-who-has-been/) [Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/) > [I do not think the mere extension of the ballot a panacea for all the ills of our national life. What we need to-day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/i-do-not-think-the-mere-extension-of-the-ballot-a-panacea-for-all-the/) [Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/) > [No man can feel the iron which enters another man's soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/no-man-can-feel-the-iron-which-enters-another-man-s-soul/) [Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/) > [My hands were weak, but I reached them out To feebler ones than mine, and over the shadow of my life Stole the light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/my-hands-were-weak-but-i-reached-them-out-to-feebler-ones-than-mine/) [Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/) > [True politeness is to social life what oil is to machinery, a thing to oil the ruts and grooves of existence. False politeness can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/true-politeness-is-to-social-life-what-oil-is-to-machinery-a-thing-to/) [Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/) > [The true aim of female education should be, not a development of one or two, but all the faculties of the human soul, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/the-true-aim-of-female-education-should-be-not-a-development-of-one/) [Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/) > [A room to myself is a luxury that I do not always enjoy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/a-room-to-myself-is-a-luxury-that-i-do-not-always-enjoy/) [Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/) > [The respect that is only bought by gold is not worth much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/the-respect-that-is-only-bought-by-gold-is-not-worth-much/) [Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/) > [Slavery is dead, but the spirit which animated it still lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/slavery-is-dead-but-the-spirit-which-animated-it-still-lives/) [Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/) [Explore all 26 Frances Harper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/) ## More Belong quotes > [How come I end up where I started How come I end up where I belong... You used to be alright What happened?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/how-come-i-end-up-where-i-started-how-come-i-end-up-where-i-belong/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [Each of us is precious to God because each of us has their name written on the palms of God's hands. And God says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/each-of-us-is-precious-to-god-because-each-of-us-has-their-name/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I hate this feeling. Like Im here. But, Im not. Like someone cares. But, they dont. Like I belong somewhere else, anywhere but here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-this-feeling-like-im-here-but-im-not-like-someone-cares-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As you know, in America there's no rights for the artist, so whatever films I've made kind of belong to the studio, so if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-jewison/as-you-know-in-america-there-s-no-rights-for-the-artist-so-whatever/) [Norman Jewison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-jewison/) > [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [God has a purpose for us. If he didn't we wouldn't be alive in the first place. We have a calling. We are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-janssen/god-has-a-purpose-for-us-if-he-didn-t-we-wouldn-t-be-alive-in-the/) [Kenny Janssen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-janssen/) > [I thought of how many places there are in the world that belong in this way to someone, who has it in his blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/i-thought-of-how-many-places-there-are-in-the-world-that-belong-in/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [I belong to a Bohri Muslim family, and for us, food is our biggest celebration. We are used to elaborate five- to six-course meals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nushrat-bharucha/i-belong-to-a-bohri-muslim-family-and-for-us-food-is-our-biggest/) [Nushrat Bharucha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nushrat-bharucha/) > [“You need to belong to yourself, and let others belong to themselves too. You need to be free and detached from things and your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/you-need-to-belong-to-yourself-and-let-others-belong-to-themselves/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [I want all of my films to belong to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/i-want-all-of-my-films-to-belong-to-me/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [“Your beliefs, and your beliefs alone, belong to you. You are the only one who is with you for your entire life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-ruiz-jr/your-beliefs-and-your-beliefs-alone-belong-to-you-you-are-the-only/) [Miguel Ruiz Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-ruiz-jr/) > [Earth does not belong to us; we belong to earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-seattle/earth-does-not-belong-to-us-we-belong-to-earth/) [Chief Seattle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-seattle/) > [I think I know where you belong. I think I know its not with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-i-know-where-you-belong-i-think-i-know-its-not-with-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's a compelling reason why I belong in the Hall of Fame, but I understand the argument against me. My career didn't go like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-warner/there-s-a-compelling-reason-why-i-belong-in-the-hall-of-fame-but-i/) [Kurt Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-warner/) Browse all 1,571 Belong quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I belong to this race, and when it is down I belong to a down race; when it is up I belong to a risen race.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frances Harper" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/i-belong-to-this-race-and-when-it-is-down-i-belong-to-a-down-race/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Belong" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/i-belong-to-this-race-and-when-it-is-down-i-belong-to-a-down-race/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/frances-harper-23401_belong_i-belong-to-this-race-and-when-it-is-dow_523400.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/frances-harper-23401_belong_i-belong-to-this-race-and-when-it-is-dow_523400.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/frances-harper-23401_belong_i-belong-to-this-race-and-when-it-is-dow_523400.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I belong to this race, and when it is down I belong to a down race; when it is up I belong to a risen race.” — Frances Harper", "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": "Frances Harper", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I belong to this race, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/i-belong-to-this-race-and-when-it-is-down-i-belong-to-a-down-race/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/i-belong-to-this-race-and-when-it-is-down-i-belong-to-a-down-race/#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 } } ] } ```