--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The lesson this teaches and which every…" description: "\"The lesson this teaches and which every Afro-American should ponder well, is that a Winchester rifle should have a place of honor in every black home, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/ida-b-wells-16137_afros_the-lesson-this-teaches-and-which-every_2438447.jpg" --- # The lesson this teaches and which every Afro-American… ![“The lesson this teaches and which every Afro-American should ponder well, is that a Winchester rifle should have a place of honor in every black home, and it should be used for that protection which the law refuses to give. When the white man who is always the aggressor knows he runs as great a…” quote by Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/ida-b-wells-16137_afros_the-lesson-this-teaches-and-which-every_2438447.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/ida-b-wells-16137_afros_the-lesson-this-teaches-and-which-every_2438447.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/ida-b-wells-16137_afros_the-lesson-this-teaches-and-which-every_2438447.jpg) > “The lesson this teaches and which every Afro-American should ponder well, is that a Winchester rifle should have a place of honor in every black home, and it should be used for that protection which the law refuses to give. When the white man who is always the aggressor knows he runs as great a risk of biting the dust every time his Afro-American victim does, he will have greater respect for Afro-American life. The more the Afro-American yields and cringes and begs, the more he has to do so, the more he is insulted, outraged and lynched.” [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Black families need means means of self‑defense, as the legal system often fails to protect them. **In simple terms:** Self‑defense is necessary when law is insufficient. Key Takeaway Advocate for community protection and legal reform. Themes justice self‑defense racial violence rights empowerment Mood urgent determined Type activist historical When to use this quote - neighborhood patrols - legal aid - political activism - educational programs Key Concepts civil rights self‑reliance community safety Questions to Reflect On - How can communities protect themselves without escalating conflict? - What legal reforms are needed to ensure safety? A Different Perspective Arming communities may increase violence and legal repercussions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afro American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afro-american/) [Afros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afros/) [Aggressors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aggressors/) [American life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-life/) [American Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-victim-465447/) [Biting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biting/) [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Cringe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cringe/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Greater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honor/) [Insulted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insulted/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Outraged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outraged/) [Ponder Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ponder-winchester-465449/) [Pondering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pondering/) [Protection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protection/) [Refuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuse/) [Respect Afro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect-afro-465445/) [Rifles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rifles/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Should have](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should-have/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victim/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-man/) [Winchester Rifle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winchester-rifle-465446/) [Yield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yield/) ## Related quotes > [The Afro-American is not a bestial race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-afro-american-is-not-a-bestial-race/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The Afro-American is not a bestial race. If this work can contribute in any way towards proving this, and at the same time arouse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-afro-american-is-not-a-bestial-race-if-this-work-can-contribute/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The only times an Afro-American who was assaulted got away has been when he had a gun and used it in self-defense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-only-times-an-afro-american-who-was-assaulted-got-away-has-been/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Somebody must show that the Afro-American race is more sinned against than sinning, and it seems to have fallen upon me to do so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/somebody-must-show-that-the-afro-american-race-is-more-sinned-against/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [A Winchester rifle should have a place of honor in every black home,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/a-winchester-rifle-should-have-a-place-of-honor-in-every-black-home/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [To say that the Afro American created jazz doesn't mean anything bad about Anglo Americans, and I always teach my younger jazz musicians that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/to-say-that-the-afro-american-created-jazz-doesn-t-mean-anything-bad/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [Forget the methods or the differences in methods. As long as we agree that the thing that the Afro-American wants and needs is recognition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/forget-the-methods-or-the-differences-in-methods-as-long-as-we-agree/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Since the age of 12, all my musical thinking has been influenced by Afro-American music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-korner/since-the-age-of-12-all-my-musical-thinking-has-been-influenced-by/) [Alexis Korner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-korner/) > [When I did the Abyssinian mass, I went through the whole history of the church music and the gospel music, even with the Anglo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/when-i-did-the-abyssinian-mass-i-went-through-the-whole-history-of/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [A lot of great art comes from the Afro-American male experience. Black men are geniuses, and many times their desperation, their position as being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/a-lot-of-great-art-comes-from-the-afro-american-male-experience-black/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [My work sometimes can be abstract and appear not to have a direct relationship to Afro-American concerns, but, in fact, it is based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-byrd/my-work-sometimes-can-be-abstract-and-appear-not-to-have-a-direct/) [Donald Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-byrd/) > [If you are serious about American culture and you are serious about Afro-American culture, you are in a lot of pain. You are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/if-you-are-serious-about-american-culture-and-you-are-serious-about/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [The hearts of Afro-American women are too warm and too large for race hatred. Long suffering has so chastened them that they are developing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-barrier-williams/the-hearts-of-afro-american-women-are-too-warm-and-too-large-for-race/) [Fannie Barrier Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-barrier-williams/) > [When I say Afro-American aesthetic, I'm not just talking about the United States, I'm talking about the Americas. People in the Latin countries read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/when-i-say-afro-american-aesthetic-i-m-not-just-talking-about-the/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [The final test of Afro-American studies will be the extent to which they rid the minds of whites and blacks alike of false learning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-saunders-redding/the-final-test-of-afro-american-studies-will-be-the-extent-to-which/) [Jay Saunders Redding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-saunders-redding/) ## More by Ida B. Wells > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The white man’s victory soon became complete by fraud, violence, intimidation and murder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-white-man-s-victory-soon-became-complete-by-fraud-violence/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Lynching is color line murder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/lynching-is-color-line-murder/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Although lynchings have steadily increased in number and barbarity during the last twenty years, there has been no single effort put forth by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/although-lynchings-have-steadily-increased-in-number-and-barbarity/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [In slave times the Negro was kept subservient and submissive by the frequency and severity of the scourging, but, with freedom, a new system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/in-slave-times-the-negro-was-kept-subservient-and-submissive-by-the/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [There is nothing we can do about the lynching now, as we are out-numbered and without arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/there-is-nothing-we-can-do-about-the-lynching-now-as-we-are-out/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The appeal to the white man's pocket has ever been more effectual than all the appeals ever made to his conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-appeal-to-the-white-man-s-pocket-has-ever-been-more-effectual/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The people must know before they can act, and there is no educator to compare with the press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-people-must-know-before-they-can-act-and-there-is-no-educator-to/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The Afro-American is not a bestial race. If this work can contribute in any way towards proving this, and at the same time arouse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-afro-american-is-not-a-bestial-race-if-this-work-can-contribute/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [I had an instinctive feeling that the people who have little or no school training should have something coming into their homes weekly which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/i-had-an-instinctive-feeling-that-the-people-who-have-little-or-no/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Thus lynch law held sway in the far West until civilization spread into the Territories and the orderly processes of law took its place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/thus-lynch-law-held-sway-in-the-far-west-until-civilization-spread/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Virtue knows no color line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/virtue-knows-no-color-line/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The doors of churches, hotels, concert halls and reading rooms are alike closed against the Negro as a man, but every place is open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-doors-of-churches-hotels-concert-halls-and-reading-rooms-are/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The alleged menace of universal suffrage having been avoided by the absolute suppression of the negro vote, the spirit of mob murder should have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-alleged-menace-of-universal-suffrage-having-been-avoided-by-the/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [I am only a mouthpiece through which to tell the story of lynching and I have told it so often that I know it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/i-am-only-a-mouthpiece-through-which-to-tell-the-story-of-lynching/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) [Explore all 40 Ida B. Wells quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) ## More Afros quotes > [Adam Clayton Powell's entire political career has to be looked at in the entire context of the American history and the history of, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/adam-clayton-powell-s-entire-political-career-has-to-be-looked-at-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [I always thought he gave me that name because I have a kind of outgoing or sunny disposition. And in those days I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/i-always-thought-he-gave-me-that-name-because-i-have-a-kind-of/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [Malcolm X broke with the N.O.I. in March 1964, and in that last 11 chaotic months, he spent most of the time outside of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manning-marable/malcolm-x-broke-with-the-n-o-i-in-march-1964-and-in-that-last-11/) [Manning Marable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manning-marable/) > [The final test of Afro-American studies will be the extent to which they rid the minds of whites and blacks alike of false learning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-saunders-redding/the-final-test-of-afro-american-studies-will-be-the-extent-to-which/) [Jay Saunders Redding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-saunders-redding/) > [When I say Afro-American aesthetic, I'm not just talking about the United States, I'm talking about the Americas. People in the Latin countries read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/when-i-say-afro-american-aesthetic-i-m-not-just-talking-about-the/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [The miscegenation laws of the South only operate against the legitimate union of the races; they leave the white man free to seduce all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-miscegenation-laws-of-the-south-only-operate-against-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The hearts of Afro-American women are too warm and too large for race hatred. Long suffering has so chastened them that they are developing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-barrier-williams/the-hearts-of-afro-american-women-are-too-warm-and-too-large-for-race/) [Fannie Barrier Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-barrier-williams/) > [I had the afro when I was in high school. I had the flattop during a short period in the early '90s. And I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-meadows/i-had-the-afro-when-i-was-in-high-school-i-had-the-flattop-during-a/) [Tim Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-meadows/) > [Even his hair was bigger—a massive globe of blue-black frizz so thick that his lobster-claw horns appeared to be drowning as they tried to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/even-his-hair-was-bigger-a-massive-globe-of-blue-black-frizz-so-thick/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Music really influenced me when I was growing up. I did go through a Jimi Hendrix phase. My hair was naturally quite afro, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-mccrory/music-really-influenced-me-when-i-was-growing-up-i-did-go-through-a/) [Helen McCrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-mccrory/) > [The Afro-American is not a bestial race. If this work can contribute in any way towards proving this, and at the same time arouse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-afro-american-is-not-a-bestial-race-if-this-work-can-contribute/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Afro-Caribbean influences are in me as a creative being the same way Spanish influences were in Picasso's work. I think the notion of labels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-fagan/afro-caribbean-influences-are-in-me-as-a-creative-being-the-same-way/) [Garth Fagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-fagan/) > [The common goal of 22 million Afro-Americans is respect as human beings, the God-given right to be a human being. Our common goal is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/the-common-goal-of-22-million-afro-americans-is-respect-as-human/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [In Italy, I had an Afro, and a lot of the kids came up and felt my hair. It really was funny. I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugar-ray-leonard/in-italy-i-had-an-afro-and-a-lot-of-the-kids-came-up-and-felt-my-hair/) [Sugar Ray Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugar-ray-leonard/) > [The separating of a section of America for Afro- Americans is similar to expecting a heaven in the sky somewhere after you die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/the-separating-of-a-section-of-america-for-afro-americans-is-similar/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) [Browse all 77 Afros quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afros/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The lesson this teaches and which every Afro-American should ponder well, is that a Winchester rifle should have a place of honor in every black home, and it should be used for that protection which the law refuses to give. 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