--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: African-American writers with an…" description: "\"“African-American writers with an independent vision are often consigned to obscurity. The white critics can only tolerate one black writer at a time, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/ishmael-reed-7430_african-americans_african-american-writers-with-an-indepen_2790971.png" --- # African-American writers with an independent vision are… ![“African-American writers with an independent vision are often consigned to obscurity. The white critics can only tolerate one black writer at a time, usually someone who subscribes to their values, and the black critics demand that they respect the official cultural trend of the moment.” quote by Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/ishmael-reed-7430_african-americans_african-american-writers-with-an-indepen_2790971.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/ishmael-reed-7430_african-americans_african-american-writers-with-an-indepen_2790971.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/ishmael-reed-7430_african-americans_african-american-writers-with-an-indepen_2790971.png) > ““African-American writers with an independent vision are often consigned to obscurity. The white critics can only tolerate one black writer at a time, usually someone who subscribes to their values, and the black critics demand that they respect the official cultural trend of the moment.”” [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. White critics limit black writers, demanding conformity; black critics enforce cultural trends, marginalizing independent voices. **In simple terms:** Literary gatekeeping silences diversity. Key Takeaway Support independent voices. Themes literature race gatekeeping culture Mood critical hopeful Type political philosophical When to use this quote - publishing industry - academic curricula - media representation Key Concepts critical theory cultural hegemony Questions to Reflect On - How can readers discover marginalized writers? - What role do institutions play in inclusion? A Different Perspective Market forces can also marginalize voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [African americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-americans/) [American writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-writer/) [American writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-writers/) [Authors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authors/) [Black-authors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-authors/) [Black-writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-writers/) [Blacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blacks/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Does he have a double standard for black critics as opposed to white critics?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/does-he-have-a-double-standard-for-black-critics-as-opposed-to-white/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“...I am ready for a love that beats strong and incessantly -- a hummingbird type love...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethanee-epifani-j-bryant/i-am-ready-for-a-love-that-beats-strong-and-incessantly-a-hummingbird/) [Bethanee Epifani J. 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Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethanee-epifani-j-bryant/) > [“SUGGESTIONS WITHOUT RIGHTEOUS SOLUTIONS IS JUST SARCASM”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/qwana-reynolds-frasier/suggestions-without-righteous-solutions-is-just-sarcasm/) [Qwana Reynolds-Frasier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/qwana-reynolds-frasier/) > [“My heart has turned black bitumen out of the sadness, but I know it will never burn out. I will never have cinders of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsholofelo-lehaha/my-heart-has-turned-black-bitumen-out-of-the-sadness-but-i-know-it/) [Tsholofelo Lehaha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsholofelo-lehaha/) > [“To love is to be brave. To love is to operate in your natural state.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethanee-epifani-j-bryant/to-love-is-to-be-brave-to-love-is-to-operate-in-your-natural-state/) [Bethanee Epifani J. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethanee-epifani-j-bryant/) > [“Some callings come to you only in memory. Some come only on the mouth of someone you trust. Some don’t need to be heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-arthur-riley/some-callings-come-to-you-only-in-memory-some-come-only-on-the-mouth/) Cole Arthur Riley > [“Through Miss Behave I am attempting to reclaim my voice one word at a time and live my truth to the best of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malebo-sephodi/through-miss-behave-i-am-attempting-to-reclaim-my-voice-one-word-at-a/) [Malebo Sephodi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malebo-sephodi/) > [“In America the magazines in which one can frequently publish stories or poems about Negroes are very few, and most of these do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/in-america-the-magazines-in-which-one-can-frequently-publish-stories/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [I don't trust white critics' judgment about most things that deal with black life, particularly when a black person is the creator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/i-don-t-trust-white-critics-judgment-about-most-things-that-deal-with/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [I have a pretty good sense of when to express misgivings. And white critics are just as capable of pointing those things out and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/i-have-a-pretty-good-sense-of-when-to-express-misgivings-and-white/) [Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) > [I started writing in the '90s, so I was free to just have an eccentric career and not conform to some idea of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/i-started-writing-in-the-90s-so-i-was-free-to-just-have-an-eccentric/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) ## More by Ishmael Reed > [Regardless of the criticisms I receive from the left, the right and the middle, I think it's important to maintain a prolific writing jab,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/regardless-of-the-criticisms-i-receive-from-the-left-the-right-and/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Richard Price, who has made a fortune writing fake ghetto books, says he takes a cab into the ghetto, transcribes Black speech for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/richard-price-who-has-made-a-fortune-writing-fake-ghetto-books-says/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Free enterprise is not a bad idea and has produced art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/free-enterprise-is-not-a-bad-idea-and-has-produced-art/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [When I say Afro-American aesthetic, I'm not just talking about the United States, I'm talking about the Americas. 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It can stress you out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/given-all-of-the-anti-muslim-propaganda-that-s-being-disseminated-by/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Multicultural is not a description of a category of American writing-it is a definition of all American writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/multicultural-is-not-a-description-of-a-category-of-american-writing/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Writing has made me a better man. It has put me in contact with those fleeting moments which prove the existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/writing-has-made-me-a-better-man-it-has-put-me-in-contact-with-those/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [In Crash, you've got a pathological cop who at the end justifies police brutality. He tells the naïve, young cop that you're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/in-crash-you-ve-got-a-pathological-cop-who-at-the-end-justifies/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [I get most my information about what's happening in the United States from reports and studies, which are often in conflict with what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/i-get-most-my-information-about-what-s-happening-in-the-united-states/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [ How does the \[New York\] Times treat White pathology? They reported an epidemic of heroin addiction in the Philadelphia suburbs. which included emergency admissions… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/how-does-the-new-york-times-treat-white-pathology-they-reported-an/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [I asked Joe Weixlmann why he would print a death threat like that in light of the fact that there are all of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/i-asked-joe-weixlmann-why-he-would-print-a-death-threat-like-that-in/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [I'm beginning to believe that Killer Illiteracy ought to rank near heart disease and cancer as one of the leading causes of deathamong Americans.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/i-m-beginning-to-believe-that-killer-illiteracy-ought-to-rank-near/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Writing poetry is the hard manual labor of the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/writing-poetry-is-the-hard-manual-labor-of-the-imagination/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [Few white citizens are acquainted with blacks other than those projected by the media and the so--called educational system, whichis nothing more than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/few-white-citizens-are-acquainted-with-blacks-other-than-those/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) [Explore all 91 Ishmael Reed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) ## More African americans quotes > [In a lot of movies, African-Americans are either maids or slaves, but that's not all they were. We need to show that. And we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/in-a-lot-of-movies-african-americans-are-either-maids-or-slaves-but/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [I know I'm more forgiving than most African Americans when it comes to second chances for White people who not only commit a racial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-capehart/i-know-i-m-more-forgiving-than-most-african-americans-when-it-comes/) [Jonathan Capehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-capehart/) > [It may be changing, but still it's the one place, that total control of an institution, that African Americans have. So sometimes, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/it-may-be-changing-but-still-it-s-the-one-place-that-total-control-of/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [“Alabama in 1927 alone, 27,701 men were arrested on misdemeanor charges and offered for sale by county sheriffs. 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Vote for Trump, I'm going to fix it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/to-those-african-americans-suffering-in-our-country-i-say-what-do-you/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Affirmative action was designed to recognize the uniquely difficult journey of African-Americans. This policy was justifiable and understandable, even to those who came from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-webb/affirmative-action-was-designed-to-recognize-the-uniquely-difficult/) [Jim Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-webb/) > [“The black officer checks Daddy while his partner glances around at all of the onlookers. There's quite a few of us now. 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In our position, there's always some sort of stereotype that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xavier-woods/as-african-americans-we-don-t-start-with-a-blank-slate-while-other/) [Xavier Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xavier-woods/) [Browse all 593 African americans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-americans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“African-American writers with an independent vision are often consigned to obscurity. 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