--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm sure that you could go back and make…" description: "\"I'm sure that you could go back and make a graph showing that all the killings of black males increased in times of economic difficulty. As a matter of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/ishmael-reed-7430_black_i-m-sure-that-you-could-go-back-and-make_2892133.png" --- # I'm sure that you could go back and make a graph showing… ![“I'm sure that you could go back and make a graph showing that all the killings of black males increased in times of economic difficulty. As a matter of fact, a black man was lynched last year.” quote by Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/ishmael-reed-7430_black_i-m-sure-that-you-could-go-back-and-make_2892133.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/ishmael-reed-7430_black_i-m-sure-that-you-could-go-back-and-make_2892133.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/ishmael-reed-7430_black_i-m-sure-that-you-could-go-back-and-make_2892133.png) > “I'm sure that you could go back and make a graph showing that all the killings of black males increased in times of economic difficulty. As a matter of fact, a black man was lynched last year.” [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. Economic hardship correlates with increased violence against black men. **In simple terms:** Hardship links to more black male killings. Key Takeaway Address systemic inequality. Themes race economics violence Mood urgent reflective Type political social When to use this quote - community outreach - economic reform - education programs - legal advocacy Key Concepts sociology public policy Questions to Reflect On - How can societies reduce violence? - What policies help during crises? A Different Perspective Correlation does not imply causation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Killing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing/) [Males](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/males/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [So many killings of black men in my lifetime. The physical shock is astounding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/so-many-killings-of-black-men-in-my-lifetime-the-physical-shock-is/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [When killings of black by policeman happen, there's the victim, there's the family, there are the police, there are the politicians, and there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/when-killings-of-black-by-policeman-happen-there-s-the-victim-there-s/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [“Jesus: I was nearly lynched by a mob made up of my hometown synagogue congregation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-klaus-theis/jesus-i-was-nearly-lynched-by-a-mob-made-up-of-my-hometown-synagogue/) Rick Klaus Theis > [I was going to be lynched. 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Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [“Between 1882 and 1968, more black people were lynched in Mississippi than in any other state. “You and I know what’s the best way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/between-1882-and-1968-more-black-people-were-lynched-in-mississippi/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Have you ever sent a loved son on vacation, and had him returned to you in a pine box, so horribly battered and water-logged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mamie-till/have-you-ever-sent-a-loved-son-on-vacation-and-had-him-returned-to/) [Mamie Till](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mamie-till/) > [“LYNCHED BECAUSE THE JURY ACQUITTED HIM The entire system of the judiciary of this country is in the hands of white people. To this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells-barnett/lynched-because-the-jury-acquitted-him-the-entire-system-of-the/) [Ida B. Wells-Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells-barnett/) > [The Negro fought and bled and died in every war the white man waged, and he still won't give you justice. You nursed his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/the-negro-fought-and-bled-and-died-in-every-war-the-white-man-waged/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [My father saw two black men lynched on his street in Cartersville, as a child. And I think seeing two black businessmen - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/my-father-saw-two-black-men-lynched-on-his-street-in-cartersville-as/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“(Lynched for Wife Beating) In nearly all communities wife beating is punishable with a fine, and in no community is it made a felony.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells-barnett/lynched-for-wife-beating-in-nearly-all-communities-wife-beating-is/) [Ida B. Wells-Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells-barnett/) > [American civil rights leader, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Lynching is a murder. For the past four hundred years our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/american-civil-rights-leader-where-do-we-go-from-here-chaos-or/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) ## 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 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. 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