--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Despite our best efforts and our highest…" description: "\"Despite our best efforts and our highest hopes, America's long struggle with race is far from finished.\" — Hillary Clinton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/hillary-clinton-51_america_despite-our-best-efforts-and-our-highest_1841563.jpg" --- # Despite our best efforts and our highest hopes, America's… ![“Despite our best efforts and our highest hopes, America's long struggle with race is far from finished.” quote by Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/hillary-clinton-51_america_despite-our-best-efforts-and-our-highest_1841563.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/hillary-clinton-51_america_despite-our-best-efforts-and-our-highest_1841563.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/hillary-clinton-51_america_despite-our-best-efforts-and-our-highest_1841563.jpg) > “Despite our best efforts and our highest hopes, America's long struggle with race is far from finished.” [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. America’s racial issues persist despite progress, requiring continued effort and systemic change. **In simple terms:** Racial struggle continues, needs ongoing work. Key Takeaway Commit to ongoing racial equity work. Themes race justice policy activism Mood determined urgent Type political activist When to use this quote - legislative reform - community organizing - education programs Key Concepts sociology civil rights public policy Questions to Reflect On - What actions can individuals take? - How to sustain momentum? A Different Perspective Change is slow and contested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) ## Related quotes > [I know that so many of us hoped that, by electing our first black president, we had turned the page on this chapter in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-know-that-so-many-of-us-hoped-that-by-electing-our-first-black/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [One of the things all entrepreneurs struggle with is where their efforts will have the highest impact. Unfortunately, too many of us continue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/one-of-the-things-all-entrepreneurs-struggle-with-is-where-their/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [Life is a struggle……NOT RACE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grimy-fritter/life-is-a-struggle-not-race/) Grimy Fritter > [Science is so powerful that it drags us kicking and screaming towards the truth despite our best efforts to avoid it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/science-is-so-powerful-that-it-drags-us-kicking-and-screaming-towards/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [In the field of education, educators know that they leave a lasting impact on their students for better or for worse. Trust is established…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-ann-tomlinson/in-the-field-of-education-educators-know-that-they-leave-a-lasting/) [Carol Ann Tomlinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-ann-tomlinson/) > [I agree that one can't dispense with the reins and the whip altogether, for knaves find their way even into literature, but no thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/i-agree-that-one-can-t-dispense-with-the-reins-and-the-whip/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [Barack Obama went high, despite Donald Trump's best efforts to bring him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/barack-obama-went-high-despite-donald-trump-s-best-efforts-to-bring/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I like to remember what Michelle Obama said in her amazing speech at our Democratic National Convention: When they go low, we go high.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-like-to-remember-what-michelle-obama-said-in-her-amazing-speech-at/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [“So is America over? A long time ago we "lost" China, we've lost Southeast Asia, we've lost South America. Maybe we'll lose the Middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/so-is-america-over-a-long-time-ago-we-lost-china-we-ve-lost-southeast/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [How are we to write The Russian novel in America As long as life goes so unterribly?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/how-are-we-to-write-the-russian-novel-in-america-as-long-as-life-goes/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Hunger has been a struggle in America for a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weston-mckennie/hunger-has-been-a-struggle-in-america-for-a-long-time/) [Weston McKennie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weston-mckennie/) > [In America, we have long stood by the principle that the protections of the law are not meant just for some.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-maloney/in-america-we-have-long-stood-by-the-principle-that-the-protections/) [Carolyn Maloney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-maloney/) > [America has long been the land of immigrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/america-has-long-been-the-land-of-immigrants/) [Cathy McMorris Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/) > [“The history of whiteness in America is one long scroll of affirmative action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/the-history-of-whiteness-in-america-is-one-long-scroll-of-affirmative/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [America has long stood before the world as an exceptional country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/america-has-long-stood-before-the-world-as-an-exceptional-country/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) ## More by Hillary Clinton > [When it comes to bullying small businesses, Donald Trump is the poster boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/when-it-comes-to-bullying-small-businesses-donald-trump-is-the-poster/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I'm going to do everything I can to get myself elected, but that's not enough. I'm going to try to help move the Senate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-m-going-to-do-everything-i-can-to-get-myself-elected-but-that-s-not/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I think we have to take a look at corporate law. We have to take a look at the incentives that we can perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-think-we-have-to-take-a-look-at-corporate-law-we-have-to-take-a/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I am somewhat influenced by the years that I've spent trying to actually get things done, whether it was reforming education in Arkansas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-somewhat-influenced-by-the-years-that-i-ve-spent-trying-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We know in New York we have several million at any one time who are in New York illegally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-know-in-new-york-we-have-several-million-at-any-one-time-who-are/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I have always believed that women are not victims, we are agents of change, we are drivers of progress, we are makers of peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-have-always-believed-that-women-are-not-victims-we-are-agents-of/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I have clearly said we faced terrorist enemies who use Islam to justify slaughtering innocent people and we have to stop them and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-have-clearly-said-we-faced-terrorist-enemies-who-use-islam-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [If I had lost the popular vote but won the electoral college and in my first day as president the intelligence community came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/if-i-had-lost-the-popular-vote-but-won-the-electoral-college-and-in/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We now have power under the Dodd-Frank legislation to break up banks. And I've said I will use that power if they pose a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-now-have-power-under-the-dodd-frank-legislation-to-break-up-banks/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I am not going to make promises I can't keep. I am not going to talk about big ideas like single-payer and then not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-not-going-to-make-promises-i-can-t-keep-i-am-not-going-to-talk/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [It's important to recognize that expanding the circle of opportunity and increasing the democratic potential of our own society, as well as those across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/it-s-important-to-recognize-that-expanding-the-circle-of-opportunity/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We're living in a technological world. You cannot tell me we can't do a better job getting that information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-re-living-in-a-technological-world-you-cannot-tell-me-we-can-t-do/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I do not think homosexuality is immoral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-do-not-think-homosexuality-is-immoral/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [We need to have more second chance programs. I'm glad that we're ending private prisons in the federal system; I want to see them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-need-to-have-more-second-chance-programs-i-m-glad-that-we-re/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [A nuclear-weapons armed Iran is not in anyone's human-rights interests. That is a direct threat to the lives and the livelihoods and the stability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/a-nuclear-weapons-armed-iran-is-not-in-anyone-s-human-rights/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) [Explore all 1,911 Hillary Clinton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) ## 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. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Despite our best efforts and our highest hopes, America's long struggle with race is far from finished.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hillary Clinton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/despite-our-best-efforts-and-our-highest-hopes-america-s-long/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/despite-our-best-efforts-and-our-highest-hopes-america-s-long/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/hillary-clinton-51_america_despite-our-best-efforts-and-our-highest_1841563.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/hillary-clinton-51_america_despite-our-best-efforts-and-our-highest_1841563.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/hillary-clinton-51_america_despite-our-best-efforts-and-our-highest_1841563.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Despite our best efforts and our highest hopes, America's long struggle with race is far from finished.” — Hillary Clinton", "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": "Hillary Clinton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Despite our best efforts and our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/despite-our-best-efforts-and-our-highest-hopes-america-s-long/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/despite-our-best-efforts-and-our-highest-hopes-america-s-long/#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 } } ] } ```