--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For nearly six centuries, antiracist…" description: "\"“For nearly six centuries, antiracist ideas have been pitted against two kinds of racist ideas: segregationist and assimilationist.”\" — Ibram X. Kendi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/ibram-x-kendi-3080_racism_for-nearly-six-centuries-antiracist-idea_2776218.jpg" --- # For nearly six centuries, antiracist ideas have been… ![“For nearly six centuries, antiracist ideas have been pitted against two kinds of racist ideas: segregationist and assimilationist.” quote by Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/ibram-x-kendi-3080_racism_for-nearly-six-centuries-antiracist-idea_2776218.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/ibram-x-kendi-3080_racism_for-nearly-six-centuries-antiracist-idea_2776218.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/ibram-x-kendi-3080_racism_for-nearly-six-centuries-antiracist-idea_2776218.jpg) > ““For nearly six centuries, antiracist ideas have been pitted against two kinds of racist ideas: segregationist and assimilationist.”” [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Antiracist thought has long faced two opposing racist frameworks: one that separates groups and one that forces minority groups to adopt dominant norms. **In simple terms:** Antiracist ideas clash with segregation and assimilation. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge both segregationist and assimilationist narratives. Themes racism justice identity social change Mood thoughtful determined Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - policy reform - education curricula - community organizing - media representation Key Concepts critical race theory intersectionality cultural hegemony Questions to Reflect On - How do segregationist and assimilationist ideas manifest in today’s institutions? - What strategies can address both simultaneously? A Different Perspective Focusing only on one type of racism may overlook the other’s impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [“Both segregationist and assimilationist ideas have been wrapped up in attractive arguments to seem good, and both have made sure to re-wrap antiracist ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/both-segregationist-and-assimilationist-ideas-have-been-wrapped-up-in/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“From the beginning, it has been a three-sided battle, a battle of antiracist ideas being pitted against two kinds of racist ideas at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/from-the-beginning-it-has-been-a-three-sided-battle-a-battle-of/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“Hate and ignorance have not driven the history of racist ideas in America. Racist policies have driven the history of racist ideas in America.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/hate-and-ignorance-have-not-driven-the-history-of-racist-ideas-in/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“All these self-serving efforts by powerful factions to define their racist rhetoric as nonracist has left Americans thoroughly divided over, and ignorant of, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/all-these-self-serving-efforts-by-powerful-factions-to-define-their/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“The only thing wrong with White people is when they embrace racist ideas and policies and then deny their ideas and policies are racist.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/the-only-thing-wrong-with-white-people-is-when-they-embrace-racist/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“King Kong was stunningly original for showing images of racist ideas—without ever saying a word about Black people,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/king-kong-was-stunningly-original-for-showing-images-of-racist-ideas/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“most probably consumed the racist ideas, distancing themselves from Black people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/most-probably-consumed-the-racist-ideas-distancing-themselves-from/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“I know that readers truly committed to racial equality will join me on this journey of interrogating and shedding our racist ideas. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/i-know-that-readers-truly-committed-to-racial-equality-will-join-me/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“if there is anything I have learned during my research, it’s that the principal producers and defenders of racist ideas will not join us.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/if-there-is-anything-i-have-learned-during-my-research-it-s-that-the/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“The year before, Boyle had jumped into the ring of the racial debate with Of the Nature of Whiteness and Blackness. He rejected both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/the-year-before-boyle-had-jumped-into-the-ring-of-the-racial-debate/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“Others channeled—or were led to channel—their economic and political frustrations into racist ideas, which then led to more hatred of Black people. It”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/others-channeled-or-were-led-to-channel-their-economic-and-political/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“When you truly believe that the racial groups are equal, then you also believe that racial disparities must be the result of racial discrimination.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/when-you-truly-believe-that-the-racial-groups-are-equal-then-you-also/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“The vicious housing cycle had already begun. Racist policies harmed Black neighborhoods, generating racist ideas that caused people not to want to live next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/the-vicious-housing-cycle-had-already-begun-racist-policies-harmed/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“Racially discriminatory policies have usually sprung from economic, political, and cultural self-interests, self-interests that are constantly changing. Politicians seeking higher office have primarily created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/racially-discriminatory-policies-have-usually-sprung-from-economic/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“intersectionality”—prejudice stemming from the intersections of racist ideas and other forms of bigotry, such as sexism, classism, ethnocentrism, and homophobia.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/intersectionality-prejudice-stemming-from-the-intersections-of-racist/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) ## More by Ibram X. Kendi > [“When men oppress their fellowmen, the oppressor ever finds, in the character of the oppressed, a full justification for his oppression.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/when-men-oppress-their-fellowmen-the-oppressor-ever-finds-in-the/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“assimilationists constantly encourage Black adoption of White cultural traits and/or physical ideals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/assimilationists-constantly-encourage-black-adoption-of-white/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“Enlightenment ideas gave legitimacy to this long-held racist “partiality,” the connection between lightness and Whiteness and reason, on the one hand, and between darkness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/enlightenment-ideas-gave-legitimacy-to-this-long-held-racist/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“Hate and ignorance have not driven the history of racist ideas in America. Racist policies have driven the history of racist ideas in America.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/hate-and-ignorance-have-not-driven-the-history-of-racist-ideas-in/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“From the beginning, it has been a three-sided battle, a battle of antiracist ideas being pitted against two kinds of racist ideas at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/from-the-beginning-it-has-been-a-three-sided-battle-a-battle-of/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“newspaper reports of rape constructed white defendants as individual offenders and black defendants as representative of the failings of their racial group,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/newspaper-reports-of-rape-constructed-white-defendants-as-individual/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“Racist intentions—not policies—became covert after the 1960s.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/racist-intentions-not-policies-became-covert-after-the-1960s/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“Donald Trump’s economic policies are geared toward enriching White male power—but at the expense of most of his White male followers, along with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/donald-trump-s-economic-policies-are-geared-toward-enriching-white/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“individualizing White negativity and generalizing Black negativity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/individualizing-white-negativity-and-generalizing-black-negativity/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“Racially discriminatory policies have usually sprung from economic, political, and cultural self-interests, self-interests that are constantly changing. Politicians seeking higher office have primarily created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/racially-discriminatory-policies-have-usually-sprung-from-economic/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“The vicious housing cycle had already begun. Racist policies harmed Black neighborhoods, generating racist ideas that caused people not to want to live next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/the-vicious-housing-cycle-had-already-begun-racist-policies-harmed/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“For Jefferson, power came before freedom. Indeed, power creates freedom, not the other way around—as the powerless are taught.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/for-jefferson-power-came-before-freedom-indeed-power-creates-freedom/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“To justify Black enslavement, Barbados planters actually “preferred” the polygenesis theory over the curse theory of Ham,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/to-justify-black-enslavement-barbados-planters-actually-preferred-the/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“With this law in place, White enslavers could now reap financial reward from relations “upon a negro woman.” But they wanted to prevent the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/with-this-law-in-place-white-enslavers-could-now-reap-financial/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“Our education has filled us with strong prejudices against them,” Hopkins professed, “and led us to consider them, not as our brethren, or in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/our-education-has-filled-us-with-strong-prejudices-against-them/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) [Explore all 140 Ibram X. Kendi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) ## More Racism quotes > [Race is the idea that a human being is more superior than another human being, race in society grants illusional rights to mistreat each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/race-is-the-idea-that-a-human-being-is-more-superior-than-another/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [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/) > [If I had to guess and put a name on it, I'd say that at some point, the drug war was as much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/if-i-had-to-guess-and-put-a-name-on-it-i-d-say-that-at-some-point-the/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/when-dealing-with-people-remember-you-are-not-dealing-with-creatures/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [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/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [The color of somebody's skin or the way he wears his hair or clothes has nothing to do with anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-color-of-somebody-s-skin-or-the-way-he-wears-his-hair-or-clothes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Well, I've been politically involved for a really long time. Growing up in the segregated South, it was a very painful experience for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cybill-shepherd/well-i-ve-been-politically-involved-for-a-really-long-time-growing-up/) [Cybill Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cybill-shepherd/) > [This is, for an accomplished Latino, an accomplished African American, an accomplished anyone who disproves stereotypes, it's a constant battle in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/this-is-for-an-accomplished-latino-an-accomplished-african-american/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [Caught in a racial uproar, people make all sorts of promises to make amends. Whatever they do tends to be heavy on symbolism and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-capehart/caught-in-a-racial-uproar-people-make-all-sorts-of-promises-to-make/) [Jonathan Capehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-capehart/) > [I hate prejudice on any level. I don't care if it's somebody being discriminated against because of the color of their skin or their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlamagne-tha-god/i-hate-prejudice-on-any-level-i-don-t-care-if-it-s-somebody-being/) [Charlamagne tha God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlamagne-tha-god/) > [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/) > [Black Privilege is a concrete motive that black people benefit from, such as racism but racism on whites. Black people don't know it but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/black-privilege-is-a-concrete-motive-that-black-people-benefit-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you do a black character or a female character or an Asian character, then they aren't just that character. They represent that race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-mcduffie/if-you-do-a-black-character-or-a-female-character-or-an-asian/) [Dwayne McDuffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-mcduffie/) [Browse all 10,057 Racism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For nearly six centuries, antiracist ideas have been pitted against two kinds of racist ideas: segregationist and assimilationist.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ibram X. Kendi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/for-nearly-six-centuries-antiracist-ideas-have-been-pitted-against/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Racism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/for-nearly-six-centuries-antiracist-ideas-have-been-pitted-against/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/ibram-x-kendi-3080_racism_for-nearly-six-centuries-antiracist-idea_2776218.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/ibram-x-kendi-3080_racism_for-nearly-six-centuries-antiracist-idea_2776218.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/ibram-x-kendi-3080_racism_for-nearly-six-centuries-antiracist-idea_2776218.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For nearly six centuries, antiracist ideas have been pitted against two kinds of racist ideas…” — Ibram X. Kendi", "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": "Ibram X. Kendi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“For nearly six centuries, antiracist ideas...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/for-nearly-six-centuries-antiracist-ideas-have-been-pitted-against/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/for-nearly-six-centuries-antiracist-ideas-have-been-pitted-against/#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 } } ] } ```