--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anything that could be conceived of that…" description: "\"Anything that could be conceived of that would separate black people from white people was devised and codified by someone in some state in the South. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/isabel-wilkerson-10765_black_anything-that-could-be-conceived-of-that_1668117.jpg" --- # Anything that could be conceived of that would separate… ![“Anything that could be conceived of that would separate black people from white people was devised and codified by someone in some state in the South. There were colored and White waiting rooms everywhere, from doctor's offices to the bus stations, as people may already know.” quote by Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/isabel-wilkerson-10765_black_anything-that-could-be-conceived-of-that_1668117.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/isabel-wilkerson-10765_black_anything-that-could-be-conceived-of-that_1668117.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/isabel-wilkerson-10765_black_anything-that-could-be-conceived-of-that_1668117.jpg) > “Anything that could be conceived of that would separate black people from white people was devised and codified by someone in some state in the South. There were colored and White waiting rooms everywhere, from doctor's offices to the bus stations, as people may already know.” [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Segregation was a deliberate, state‑crafted system that enforced racial separation in public spaces across the South. **In simple terms:** Racial separation was intentionally created by Southern laws. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge systemic segregation. Themes racial inequality history civil rights Mood reflective somber Type historical social commentary When to use this quote - public facilities - healthcare - transport - education - housing Key Concepts institutional racism social engineering Questions to Reflect On - How do historic segregation policies shape today’s social structures? - What actions can dismantle lingering segregation? A Different Perspective Segregation’s legacy persists, affecting modern inequities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-people/) [Doctors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctors/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [White people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-people/) ## Related quotes > [There were colored and white waiting rooms everywhere, from doctor's offices to the bus stations, as people may already know. But there were actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/there-were-colored-and-white-waiting-rooms-everywhere-from-doctor-s/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [“That one over this is the one for the use of the white people,” Judge Amistead Jones said. “Not that I am a stickler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/that-one-over-this-is-the-one-for-the-use-of-the-white-people-judge/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [I have a neighbor who knows 200 types of wine. ... I only know two types of wine - red and white. But my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-a-neighbor-who-knows-200-types-of-wine-i-only-know-two-types/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It seems wrong to call it “business.” It seems wrong to throw all those hectic days and sleepless nights, all those magnificent triumphs and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/it-seems-wrong-to-call-it-business-it-seems-wrong-to-throw-all-those/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) > [“When the morning light came into the room it found them curled together in a nest of red and white sheets. It revealed also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/when-the-morning-light-came-into-the-room-it-found-them-curled/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [“I found Waldo. He was in a strip club. He was hard to spot, because he’d already stripped off his red and white striped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-found-waldo-he-was-in-a-strip-club-he-was-hard-to-spot-because-he-d/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Death exists—in a paperweight, in four red and white balls on a pool table—and we go on living and breathing it into our lungs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-exists-in-a-paperweight-in-four-red-and-white-balls-on-a-pool/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The red rose whispers of passion, And the white rose breathes of love; O, the red rose is a falcon, And the white rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyle-o-reilly/the-red-rose-whispers-of-passion-and-the-white-rose-breathes-of-love/) [John Boyle O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyle-o-reilly/) > [I liked wine, both red and white, and especially Champagne; and on very special occasions I could even drink a small glass of brandy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-liked-wine-both-red-and-white-and-especially-champagne-and-on-very/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“I want to find myself as a person, and I’ve enlisted the help of my clone to aid me in this. It’s like finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-want-to-find-myself-as-a-person-and-i-ve-enlisted-the-help-of-my/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Tonight the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come marched in goose-step and raised a hand to salute "Heil Hitler!" Tonight the ghost wore a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bodie-thoene/tonight-the-ghost-of-christmas-yet-to-come-marched-in-goose-step-and/) [Bodie Thoene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bodie-thoene/) > [“My eyes travel up red slacks, a white marching band shirt with a red sash that says ORCHARD HIGH, and finally reach the top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassie-mae/my-eyes-travel-up-red-slacks-a-white-marching-band-shirt-with-a-red/) [Cassie Mae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassie-mae/) > [“Above his head at street level, he saw an angled aileron of a scarlet Porsche, its jaunty fin more or less at the upper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt/above-his-head-at-street-level-he-saw-an-angled-aileron-of-a-scarlet/) [A.S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt/) > [The friendly cow, all red and white, I love with all my heart; She gives me cream with all her might, To eat with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-friendly-cow-all-red-and-white-i-love-with-all-my-heart-she-gives/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [We've taught you that the earth is round, That red and white make pink, And something else that matters more - We've taught you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/we-ve-taught-you-that-the-earth-is-round-that-red-and-white-make-pink/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) ## More by Isabel Wilkerson > [“That one over this is the one for the use of the white people,” Judge Amistead Jones said. “Not that I am a stickler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/that-one-over-this-is-the-one-for-the-use-of-the-white-people-judge/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [“...they speak like melted butter and their children speak like footsteps on pavement...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/they-speak-like-melted-butter-and-their-children-speak-like-footsteps/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [Many immigrants do not talk about what they endured back home. They were fleeing that world, and when they left they didn't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/many-immigrants-do-not-talk-about-what-they-endured-back-home-they/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [“Many of the people who left the South never exactly sat their children down to tell them these things, tell them what happened and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/many-of-the-people-who-left-the-south-never-exactly-sat-their/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [“Fifteen thousand men, women, and children gathered to watch eighteen-year-old Jesse Washington as he was burned alive in Waco, Texas, in May 1916. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/fifteen-thousand-men-women-and-children-gathered-to-watch-eighteen/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [It occurred to me that no matter where I lived, geography could not save me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/it-occurred-to-me-that-no-matter-where-i-lived-geography-could-not/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [Well, I'm a daughter of the great migration as, really, the majority of African Americans that you meet in the north and west are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/well-i-m-a-daughter-of-the-great-migration-as-really-the-majority-of/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [There were colored and white waiting rooms everywhere, from doctor's offices to the bus stations, as people may already know. But there were actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/there-were-colored-and-white-waiting-rooms-everywhere-from-doctor-s/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [“I don’t see one white person in this block selling drugs. They got the nerve to be mad at the blue-eyed devil. You don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/i-don-t-see-one-white-person-in-this-block-selling-drugs-they-got-the/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [“That the Negro American has survived at all is extraordinary —a lesser people might simply have died out, as indeed others have. — DANIEL…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/that-the-negro-american-has-survived-at-all-is-extraordinary-a-lesser/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [“The reality was that Jim Crow filtered through the economy, north and south, and pressed down on poor and working-class people of all races.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/the-reality-was-that-jim-crow-filtered-through-the-economy-north-and/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [I mean my mother migrated from Georgia -Rome, Georgia, to Washington, D.C., where she then met my father, who was a Tuskegee Airman who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/i-mean-my-mother-migrated-from-georgia-rome-georgia-to-washington-d-c/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [You must leave this world a better place than it would have been if you had not existed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/you-must-leave-this-world-a-better-place-than-it-would-have-been-if/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [“County supervisors relented only after losing their case in the U.S. Supreme Court, choosing finally to reopen the schools rather than face imprisonment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/county-supervisors-relented-only-after-losing-their-case-in-the-u-s/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [My parents sent me to a school across town, an integrated school, where I had the chance to meet and grow up with people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/my-parents-sent-me-to-a-school-across-town-an-integrated-school-where/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) [Explore all 63 Isabel Wilkerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) ## 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": "Anything that could be conceived of that would separate black people from white people was devised and codified by someone in some state in the South. There were colored and White waiting rooms everywhere, from doctor's offices to the bus stations, as people may already know.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Isabel Wilkerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/anything-that-could-be-conceived-of-that-would-separate-black-people/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Black" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/anything-that-could-be-conceived-of-that-would-separate-black-people/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/isabel-wilkerson-10765_black_anything-that-could-be-conceived-of-that_1668117.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/isabel-wilkerson-10765_black_anything-that-could-be-conceived-of-that_1668117.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/isabel-wilkerson-10765_black_anything-that-could-be-conceived-of-that_1668117.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Anything that could be conceived of that would separate black people from white people was devised and…” — Isabel Wilkerson", "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": "Isabel Wilkerson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Anything that could be conceived of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/anything-that-could-be-conceived-of-that-would-separate-black-people/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/anything-that-could-be-conceived-of-that-would-separate-black-people/#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 } } ] } ```