--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A black man, Benjamin Banneker, who…" description: "\"“A black man, Benjamin Banneker, who taught himself mathematics and astronomy, predicted accurately a solar eclipse, and was appointed to plan the new ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/howard-zinn-576_racism_a-black-man-benjamin-banneker-who-taught_19209.jpg" --- # A black man, Benjamin Banneker, who taught himself… ![“A black man, Benjamin Banneker, who taught himself mathematics and astronomy, predicted accurately a solar eclipse, and was appointed to plan the new city of Washington, wrote to Thomas Jefferson: I suppose it is a truth too well attested to you, to need a proof here, that we are a race of beings…” quote by Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/howard-zinn-576_racism_a-black-man-benjamin-banneker-who-taught_19209.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/howard-zinn-576_racism_a-black-man-benjamin-banneker-who-taught_19209.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/howard-zinn-576_racism_a-black-man-benjamin-banneker-who-taught_19209.jpg) > ““A black man, Benjamin Banneker, who taught himself mathematics and astronomy, predicted accurately a solar eclipse, and was appointed to plan the new city of Washington, wrote to Thomas Jefferson: I suppose it is a truth too well attested to you, to need a proof here, that we are a race of beings, who have long labored under the abuse and censure of the world; that we have long been looked upon with an eye of contempt; and that we have long been considered rather as brutish than human, and scarcely capable of mental endowments. . . . I apprehend you will embrace every opportunity to eradicate that train of absurd and false ideas and opinions, which so generally prevails with respect to us; and that your sentiments are concurrent with mine, which are, that one universal Father hath given being to us all; and that he hath not only made us all of one flesh, but that he hath also, without partiality, afforded us all the same sensations and endowed us all with the same facilities. . . . Banneker asked Jefferson “to wean yourselves from those narrow prejudices which you have imbibed.”” [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Banneker challenges Jefferson to reject entrenched racial prejudice, asserting shared humanity and equal mental capacity across races. **In simple terms:** Calls for dismantling racial bias. Key Takeaway Equality demands recognition of shared humanity. Themes racial justice human equality intellectual capacity historical advocacy social reform Mood determined hopeful defiant Type historical letter political appeal social critique When to use this quote - academic discourse on slavery - civil rights education - policy debates on equality - public speeches on social justice Key Concepts prejudice human rights scientific achievement political persuasion Practical Applications - educational curricula on African American contributions - advocacy campaigns for anti‑racism Questions to Reflect On - How does acknowledging shared humanity affect social policy? - What role do historical narratives play in confronting prejudice? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Solar eclipse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solar-eclipse/) ## Related quotes > [Back in 1792, Dr. Benjamin Banneker, the famed African-American inventor and scientist in Washington, proposed a Department of Peace for the new Nation to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-conyers/back-in-1792-dr-benjamin-banneker-the-famed-african-american-inventor/) [John Conyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-conyers/) > [Scientists can routinely predict a solar eclipse, to the minute, a millennium in advance. 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