--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That the Negro American has survived at…" description: "\"“That the Negro American has survived at all is extraordinary —a lesser people might simply have died out, as indeed others have. — DANIEL PATRICK MOYN..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4e/isabel-wilkerson-10765_racism_that-the-negro-american-has-survived-at_760609.jpg" --- # That the Negro American has survived at all is… ![“That the Negro American has survived at all is extraordinary —a lesser people might simply have died out, as indeed others have. — DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN,” quote by Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4e/isabel-wilkerson-10765_racism_that-the-negro-american-has-survived-at_760609.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4e/isabel-wilkerson-10765_racism_that-the-negro-american-has-survived-at_760609.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4e/isabel-wilkerson-10765_racism_that-the-negro-american-has-survived-at_760609.jpg) > ““That the Negro American has survived at all is extraordinary —a lesser people might simply have died out, as indeed others have. — DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN,”” [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. Highlights the extraordinary survival of African Americans despite systemic oppression, noting many groups have perished. **In simple terms:** Black survival is remarkable amid oppression. Key Takeaway Acknowledge systemic resilience and fight injustice. Themes social justice resilience history Mood somber determined Type historical political When to use this quote - education reform - policy advocacy - community organizing - historical research Key Concepts sociology systemic racism survival psychology Questions to Reflect On - What can be done to support continued resilience? - How does recognizing survival shape future policies? A Different Perspective Survival narratives can overlook ongoing struggles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American Survived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-survived-5899156/) [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daniel-patrick-moynihan-221397/) [Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moynihan-615315/) [Negro American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negro-american-322365/) [Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patrick-moynihan-615314/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Survived Extraordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survived-extraordinary-2198191/) ## Related quotes > [Great Daniel Patrick Moynihan said that everyone's entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts. I'm not sure that's true anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-schmidt/great-daniel-patrick-moynihan-said-that-everyone-s-entitled-to-their/) [Steve Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-schmidt/) > [“Everyone is not entitled to his own facts. — DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/everyone-is-not-entitled-to-his-own-facts-daniel-patrick-moynihan/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [¦Daniel Patrick Moynihan is the archtypical extremely smart person who went into politics anyway instead of doing something worthwhile for his country. So maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke-3/daniel-patrick-moynihan-is-the-archtypical-extremely-smart-person-who/) [P J OâRourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke-3/) > [“My predecessor in the Senate, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, used to say, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-rodham-clinton/my-predecessor-in-the-senate-daniel-patrick-moynihan-used-to-say/) [Hillary Rodham Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-rodham-clinton/) > [“One of my colleagues in the Senate, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, once made this simple but profound observation about us Irish: “To fail to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/one-of-my-colleagues-in-the-senate-daniel-patrick-moynihan-once-made/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“As Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rodda/as-daniel-patrick-moynihan-said-everyone-is-entitled-to-his-own/) [Chris Rodda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rodda/) > [Daniel Patrick Moynihan is the archetypal extremely smart person who went into politics anyway instead of doing something worthwhile for his country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/daniel-patrick-moynihan-is-the-archetypal-extremely-smart-person-who/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [“Why did Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan begin remarking frequently during the 1980s and ’90s that people were entitled to their own opinions but not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/why-did-senator-daniel-patrick-moynihan-begin-remarking-frequently/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [“But you know, everybody who survived has an extraordinary story. Otherwise, he'd be dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-fletcher/but-you-know-everybody-who-survived-has-an-extraordinary-story/) [Martin Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-fletcher/) > [The integration of the Negro into American society is one of the most exciting challenges to self-development and self-mastery that any nation of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/the-integration-of-the-negro-into-american-society-is-one-of-the-most/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [I think that we've got to come to see this. The Negro is an American.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-think-that-we-ve-got-to-come-to-see-this-the-negro-is-an-american/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/he-simply-wishes-to-make-it-possible-for-a-man-to-be-both-a-negro-and/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife, -- this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-history-of-the-american-negro-is-the-history-of-this-strife-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't think that I or any other Negro, as an American citizen, should have to ask for anything that is rightfully his. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-robinson/i-don-t-think-that-i-or-any-other-negro-as-an-american-citizen-should/) [Jackie Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-robinson/) > [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/) ## 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/) > [“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/) > [“The story describes an incident during the trial of a black schoolteacher accused of disposing of a mule on which there was a mortgage.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/the-story-describes-an-incident-during-the-trial-of-a-black/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) [Explore all 63 Isabel Wilkerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) ## 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": "“That the Negro American has survived at all is extraordinary —a lesser people might simply have died out, as indeed others have. — DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN,”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Isabel Wilkerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/that-the-negro-american-has-survived-at-all-is-extraordinary-a-lesser/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Racism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/that-the-negro-american-has-survived-at-all-is-extraordinary-a-lesser/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4e/isabel-wilkerson-10765_racism_that-the-negro-american-has-survived-at_760609.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4e/isabel-wilkerson-10765_racism_that-the-negro-american-has-survived-at_760609.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4e/isabel-wilkerson-10765_racism_that-the-negro-american-has-survived-at_760609.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That the Negro American has survived at all is extraordinary —a lesser people might simply have died out, as…” — 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": "“That the Negro American has survived...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/that-the-negro-american-has-survived-at-all-is-extraordinary-a-lesser/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/that-the-negro-american-has-survived-at-all-is-extraordinary-a-lesser/#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 } } ] } ```