--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know that the Black emphasis must be…" description: "\"I know that the Black emphasis must be not against white but FOR Black.\" — Gwendolyn Brooks" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e93/gwendolyn-brooks-5624_black_i-know-that-the-black-emphasis-must-be-n_1400633.png" --- # I know that the Black emphasis must be not against white… ![“I know that the Black emphasis must be not against white but FOR Black.” quote by Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e93/gwendolyn-brooks-5624_black_i-know-that-the-black-emphasis-must-be-n_1400633.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e93/gwendolyn-brooks-5624_black_i-know-that-the-black-emphasis-must-be-n_1400633.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e93/gwendolyn-brooks-5624_black_i-know-that-the-black-emphasis-must-be-n_1400633.png) > “I know that the Black emphasis must be not against white but FOR Black.” [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates supporting Black people rather than opposing white people, emphasizing solidarity over antagonism. **In simple terms:** Support Black, not oppose white. Key Takeaway Focus on positive advocacy. Themes solidarity justice racial equity Mood determined hopeful Type activist inspirational When to use this quote - community organizing - policy advocacy - education initiatives Key Concepts intersectionality allyism collective action Questions to Reflect On - How can we turn solidarity into concrete change? - What does “for Black” look like in daily life? A Different Perspective May overlook systemic power imbalances that need confronting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [When white and black meet today, sometimes there is a ready understanding that there has been an encounter between two human beings. 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I don't know anything else, and so I don't know how to lead any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laphonza-butler/i-only-know-how-to-be-a-black-woman-i-don-t-know-anything-else-and-so/) [Laphonza Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laphonza-butler/) > [As a black man who doesn't know another black man who hasn't had strange run-ins with police officers, it's impossible for us not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trip-lee/as-a-black-man-who-doesn-t-know-another-black-man-who-hasn-t-had/) [Trip Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trip-lee/) > [I went to white schools and I didn't know anything about black history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-dwight/i-went-to-white-schools-and-i-didn-t-know-anything-about-black-history/) [Ed Dwight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-dwight/) > [If I want to know how to do a black cat eye, I don't drive to a department store. I'll go on YouTube, cross-check…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-weiss/if-i-want-to-know-how-to-do-a-black-cat-eye-i-don-t-drive-to-a/) [Emily Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-weiss/) > [“a loyal willingness to say that black is white when Party discipline demands this. But it means also the ability to believe that black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/a-loyal-willingness-to-say-that-black-is-white-when-party-discipline/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“I don’t know about black or white magic I just know one type and that is your magic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/i-don-t-know-about-black-or-white-magic-i-just-know-one-type-and-that/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [It's really interesting when I go into a community where they haven't seen me before because I often get, 'I didn't know you were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-gillum/it-s-really-interesting-when-i-go-into-a-community-where-they-haven-t/) [Andrew Gillum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-gillum/) > [“Okay, here’s the first speech. You guys know what ‘black’ means, right? It means a program or project that is not acknowledged by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/okay-here-s-the-first-speech-you-guys-know-what-black-means-right-it/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) ## More by Gwendolyn Brooks > [My last defense / Is the present tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/my-last-defense-is-the-present-tense/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [Nothing could stop Mississippi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/nothing-could-stop-mississippi/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [Very early in life I became fascinated with the wonders language can achieve. And I began playing with words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/very-early-in-life-i-became-fascinated-with-the-wonders-language-can/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die soon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/we-real-cool-we-left-school-we-lurk-late-we-strike-straight-we-sing/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [I've always thought of myself as a reporter. When people ask why I don't stop writing, I say, 'Look at what's happening in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/i-ve-always-thought-of-myself-as-a-reporter-when-people-ask-why-i-don/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [She was afraid to suggest to him that to most people, nothing "happens." That most people merely live from day to day until they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/she-was-afraid-to-suggest-to-him-that-to-most-people-nothing-happens/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [A writer should get as much education as possible, but just going to school is not enough; if it were, all owners of doctorates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/a-writer-should-get-as-much-education-as-possible-but-just-going-to/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [Reading is important - read between the lines. Don't swallow everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/reading-is-important-read-between-the-lines-don-t-swallow-everything/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [No man can give me any word but Wait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/no-man-can-give-me-any-word-but-wait/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [The forties and fifties were years of high poet-incense; the language-flowers were thickly sweet. Those flowers whined and begged white folks to pick them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/the-forties-and-fifties-were-years-of-high-poet-incense-the-language/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [It frightens me to realize that, if I had died before the age of fifty, I would have died a 'Negro' fraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/it-frightens-me-to-realize-that-if-i-had-died-before-the-age-of-fifty/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [One reason cats are happier than people is that they have no newspapers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/one-reason-cats-are-happier-than-people-is-that-they-have-no/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [We are each other's magnitude and bond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/we-are-each-other-s-magnitude-and-bond/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [What I'm fighting for now in my work... for an expression relevant to all manner of blacks, poems I could take into a tavern,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/what-i-m-fighting-for-now-in-my-work-for-an-expression-relevant-to/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [And if sun comes / How shall we greet him? / Shall we not dread him, / Shall we not fear him / After…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/and-if-sun-comes-how-shall-we-greet-him-shall-we-not-dread-him-shall/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) [Explore all 100 Gwendolyn Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) ## More Black quotes > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [How can you be more subject; black woman in a white man's world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/how-can-you-be-more-subject-black-woman-in-a-white-man-s-world/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [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/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) Frank B. Wilderson III > [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/if-soot-stains-your-tunic-dye-it-black-this-is-vengeance/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) Browse all 11,655 Black quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I know that the Black emphasis must be not against white but FOR Black.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gwendolyn Brooks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/i-know-that-the-black-emphasis-must-be-not-against-white-but-for-black/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Black" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/i-know-that-the-black-emphasis-must-be-not-against-white-but-for-black/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e93/gwendolyn-brooks-5624_black_i-know-that-the-black-emphasis-must-be-n_1400633.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e93/gwendolyn-brooks-5624_black_i-know-that-the-black-emphasis-must-be-n_1400633.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e93/gwendolyn-brooks-5624_black_i-know-that-the-black-emphasis-must-be-n_1400633.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I know that the Black emphasis must be not against white but FOR Black.” — Gwendolyn Brooks", "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": "Gwendolyn Brooks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I know that the Black emphasis...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/i-know-that-the-black-emphasis-must-be-not-against-white-but-for-black/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/i-know-that-the-black-emphasis-must-be-not-against-white-but-for-black/#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 } } ] } ```