--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A big, sandy-haired man held his daughter…" description: "\"“A big, sandy-haired man held his daughter on his shoulders, showing her the Statue of Liberty. I would never know what this statue meant to others, sh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c1/james-baldwin-995_american-flag_a-big-sandy-haired-man-held-his-daughter_2601037.jpg" --- # A big, sandy-haired man held his daughter on his… ![“A big, sandy-haired man held his daughter on his shoulders, showing her the Statue of Liberty. I would never know what this statue meant to others, she had always been an ugly joke for me. And the American flag was flying from the top of the ship, above my head. I had seen the French flag drive…” quote by James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c1/james-baldwin-995_american-flag_a-big-sandy-haired-man-held-his-daughter_2601037.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c1/james-baldwin-995_american-flag_a-big-sandy-haired-man-held-his-daughter_2601037.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c1/james-baldwin-995_american-flag_a-big-sandy-haired-man-held-his-daughter_2601037.jpg) > ““A big, sandy-haired man held his daughter on his shoulders, showing her the Statue of Liberty. I would never know what this statue meant to others, she had always been an ugly joke for me. And the American flag was flying from the top of the ship, above my head. I had seen the French flag drive the French into the most unspeakable frenzies, I had seen the flag which was nominally mine used to dignify the vilest purposes: now I would never, as long as I lived, know what other saw when they saw a flag.”” [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Flags symbolize varied meanings; personal experience shapes perception of symbols, revealing complex identity politics **In simple terms:** Symbols hold personal and collective meanings Key Takeaway Reflect on how symbols affect personal identity Themes identity symbols politics Mood reflective critical Type literary political When to use this quote - political activism - education - art exhibitions Key Concepts cultural theory personal narrative Questions to Reflect On - How do personal histories alter your view of national symbols? - Can symbols ever be truly neutral? A Different Perspective Symbols can be co‑opted for harmful purposes ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American flag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-flag/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Seen Flag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seen-flag-1945185/) [Statue Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statue-liberty/) [Statue Meant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statue-meant-1945184/) [Statue of liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statue-of-liberty/) ## Related quotes > [If you go by that little inscription on the Statue of Liberty, the purest idea of America is complete cultural chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everlast/if-you-go-by-that-little-inscription-on-the-statue-of-liberty-the/) [Everlast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everlast/) > [Many of America's and New York's sons and daughters are around the world fighting for the freedoms that the Statue of Liberty stands for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bloomberg/many-of-america-s-and-new-york-s-sons-and-daughters-are-around-the/) [Michael Bloomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bloomberg/) > [The Statue of Liberty's gender changed nothing. It was the same here as anywhere: men and their wars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/the-statue-of-liberty-s-gender-changed-nothing-it-was-the-same-here/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [Doomsday and Statue of Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugelol/doomsday-and-statue-of-liberty/) [HugeLOL](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugelol/) > [For generations, the Statue of Liberty has stood as the symbol of our nation; a beacon of hope and comfort to the tired, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-phillips/for-generations-the-statue-of-liberty-has-stood-as-the-symbol-of-our/) [Dean Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-phillips/) > [When every new wave of immigrants looked up and saw the Statue of Liberty, or knelt down and kissed the shores of freedom just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/when-every-new-wave-of-immigrants-looked-up-and-saw-the-statue-of/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [Reagan was a flesh and blood version of any other mute national emblem, say the Statue of Liberty. Everyone knows what she represents, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-hoggart/reagan-was-a-flesh-and-blood-version-of-any-other-mute-national/) [Simon Hoggart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-hoggart/) > [The last woman I was in was the Statue of Liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/the-last-woman-i-was-in-was-the-statue-of-liberty/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“In some odd gush of patriotism, my mother had once vomited on the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty, and a bust of Benjamin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/in-some-odd-gush-of-patriotism-my-mother-had-once-vomited-on-the/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [The view... from my apartment... was the World Trade Center... and now it's gone, they attacked it. This symbol of American ingenuity, and strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/the-view-from-my-apartment-was-the-world-trade-center-and-now-it-s/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [As a devastating series of attacks rock America's oldest ally, the nation that stood by us after 9/11 that gifted us the Statue of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-king/as-a-devastating-series-of-attacks-rock-america-s-oldest-ally-the/) [Peter King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-king/) > [People look at the statue of liberty and they see a proud symbol. Donald Trump looks at the statue of liberty and sees a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/people-look-at-the-statue-of-liberty-and-they-see-a-proud-symbol/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I run from Horatio Street down just past Battery Park City and back. It's amazing to run and see the Statue of Liberty and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-cohen/i-run-from-horatio-street-down-just-past-battery-park-city-and-back/) [Andy Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-cohen/) > [The Statue of Liberty is meant to be shorthand for a country so unlike its parts that a trip from California to Indiana should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/the-statue-of-liberty-is-meant-to-be-shorthand-for-a-country-so/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [The last time I was inside a woman was when I went to the Statue of Liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/the-last-time-i-was-inside-a-woman-was-when-i-went-to-the-statue-of/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) ## More by James Baldwin > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“The South is very beautiful but its beauty makes one sad because the lives that people live, and have lived here, are so ugly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/the-south-is-very-beautiful-but-its-beauty-makes-one-sad-because-the/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“All cultures have, furthermore, an economic, social, and political base, and no culture can continue to live if its political destiny is not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/all-cultures-have-furthermore-an-economic-social-and-political-base/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“I remembered that life in that room seemed to be occuring beneath the sea, time flowed past indiffrently above us, hours and days had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/i-remembered-that-life-in-that-room-seemed-to-be-occuring-beneath-the/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“No. It would help if I were able to feel guilty.But the end of innocence is also the end of guilt”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/no-it-would-help-if-i-were-able-to-feel-guilty-but-the-end-of/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“Perhaps now, though, he had hit bottom. One thing about the bottom, he told himself, you can't fall any further. He tried to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/perhaps-now-though-he-had-hit-bottom-one-thing-about-the-bottom-he/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“What kind of friendship have you had? Or for that matter...what kind of love affairs?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/what-kind-of-friendship-have-you-had-or-for-that-matter-what-kind-of/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“For these are all our children, we will all profit by or pay for what they become.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/for-these-are-all-our-children-we-will-all-profit-by-or-pay-for-what/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“Every society is really governed by hidden laws, by unspoken but profound assumptions on the part of the people, and ours is no exception.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/every-society-is-really-governed-by-hidden-laws-by-unspoken-but/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“In those days my mother was given to the exasperating and mysterious habit of having babies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-those-days-my-mother-was-given-to-the-exasperating-and-mysterious/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“He was suggesting that all Negroes were held in a state of supreme tension between the difficult, dangerous relationship in which they stood to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/he-was-suggesting-that-all-negroes-were-held-in-a-state-of-supreme/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“In the beginning—and neither can this be overstated—a Negro just cannot believe that white people are treating him as they do; he does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-the-beginning-and-neither-can-this-be-overstated-a-negro-just/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“If the world wasn't so full of dead folks maybe those of us that's trying to live wouldn't have to suffer so bad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/if-the-world-wasn-t-so-full-of-dead-folks-maybe-those-of-us-that-s/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“I am very much concerned that American Negroes achieve their freedom here in the United States. But I am also concerned for their dignity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/i-am-very-much-concerned-that-american-negroes-achieve-their-freedom/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“The paradox—and a fearful paradox it is—is that the American Negro can have no future anywhere, on any continent, as long as he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/the-paradox-and-a-fearful-paradox-it-is-is-that-the-american-negro/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) [Explore all 312 James Baldwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) ## More American flag quotes > [ It wasn't \[Barack\] Obama per se; it was the feeling on the ground; it was seeing an old black woman in a wheelchair being… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/it-wasn-t-barack-obama-per-se-it-was-the-feeling-on-the-ground-it-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I wrote the script of Patton. I had this very bizarre opening where he stands up in front of an American flag and gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ford-coppola/i-wrote-the-script-of-patton-i-had-this-very-bizarre-opening-where-he/) [Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ford-coppola/) > [Is burning an American flag a disgusting, reprehensible act? Yes, it absolutely is, and I would tell that to the face of absolutely anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-timpf/is-burning-an-american-flag-a-disgusting-reprehensible-act-yes-it/) [Kat Timpf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-timpf/) > [“America is the wealthiest nation on Earth, but its people are mainly poor, and poor Americans are urged to hate themselves. To quote the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/america-is-the-wealthiest-nation-on-earth-but-its-people-are-mainly/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Colin Kaepernick is the latest professional athlete to spark a national debate about the meaning behind the American flag and the national anthem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-abdul-rauf/colin-kaepernick-is-the-latest-professional-athlete-to-spark-a/) [Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-abdul-rauf/) > [God bless America, land that I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-berlin/god-bless-america-land-that-i-love/) [Irving Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-berlin/) > [“The British government in 1807 had issued the “Orders in Council,” which enforced a naval blockade against France, and with a shortage of seamen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-river-editors/the-british-government-in-1807-had-issued-the-orders-in-council-which/) [Charles River Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-river-editors/) > [Instead of candidates hiring people, like yours truly, to create campaign media that works on both conscious and subconscious levels to sway the voting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-howard/instead-of-candidates-hiring-people-like-yours-truly-to-create/) [Ron Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-howard/) > [The American flag is an enduring symbol of liberty, democracy, and justice. It is fitting that the House act to protect it as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-american-flag-is-an-enduring-symbol-of-liberty-democracy-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The night of September the 14th, 1814, saw heavy bombardment of Baltimore by the British. Despite this, the next morning, the large American flag…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/the-night-of-september-the-14th-1814-saw-heavy-bombardment-of/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [“Superman – Moses in a costume, with his underpants on the outside. Captain America – the poster boy of the mad American patriot. Wonder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sinclair/superman-moses-in-a-costume-with-his-underpants-on-the-outside/) [David Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sinclair/) > [“The bold colors of the American flag stood out over her husband’s coffin. Colors of honor. Colors of freedom. Colors of sacrifice. She’d never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-cross/the-bold-colors-of-the-american-flag-stood-out-over-her-husband-s/) [Lindsay Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-cross/) > [“The 101st was trucked to Utah Beach on July 10, seeing from the land what they had seen from the air the night of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-alexander/the-101st-was-trucked-to-utah-beach-on-july-10-seeing-from-the-land/) [Larry Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-alexander/) > [I love taking photos of the American flag fluttering in the wind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-capehart/i-love-taking-photos-of-the-american-flag-fluttering-in-the-wind/) [Jonathan Capehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-capehart/) > [“People reacted with hate and fear and then community by wearing American flag shirts, bandannas, crying, huddling, lost, and senseless. They packed the gymnasium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-huang/people-reacted-with-hate-and-fear-and-then-community-by-wearing/) [Eddie Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-huang/) [Browse all 158 American flag quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-flag/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A big, sandy-haired man held his daughter on his shoulders, showing her the Statue of Liberty. I would never know what this statue meant to others, she had always been an ugly joke for me. And the American flag was flying from the top of the ship, above my head. 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