--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I thought about all those people whose…" description: "\"I thought about all those people whose suffering had been erased, and I thought, 'Why can't they speak? Why can't I undo some of that erasure?'\" — Jesm..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f57/jesmyn-ward-1426_erased_i-thought-about-all-those-people-whose-s_2523925.png" --- # I thought about all those people whose suffering had been… ![“I thought about all those people whose suffering had been erased, and I thought, 'Why can't they speak? Why can't I undo some of that erasure?'” quote by Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f57/jesmyn-ward-1426_erased_i-thought-about-all-those-people-whose-s_2523925.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f57/jesmyn-ward-1426_erased_i-thought-about-all-those-people-whose-s_2523925.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f57/jesmyn-ward-1426_erased_i-thought-about-all-those-people-whose-s_2523925.png) > “I thought about all those people whose suffering had been erased, and I thought, 'Why can't they speak? Why can't I undo some of that erasure?'” [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeing erased suffering prompts a moral urge to give voice to the silenced and restore dignity. **In simple terms:** We must speak for those whose pain is ignored. Key Takeaway Advocate for the unheard. Themes justice empathy silence activism Mood somber determined Type advocacy reflective When to use this quote - Community organizing - supporting marginalized groups - raising awareness Key Concepts ethical responsibility social awareness human rights Questions to Reflect On - Whose stories need to be heard today? - How can you responsibly amplify silenced voices? A Different Perspective May risk speaking over those directly affected. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Erased](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erased/) [Erased Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erased-thought-1278203/) [Erasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erasure/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Suffering Erased](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-erased-461082/) [Those](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/those/) [Undo Erasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undo-erasure-1278204/) [Why](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/why/) ## Related quotes > [I erased the thought from my mind, but I couldn't undo the fact that I'd had the thought in the first place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/i-erased-the-thought-from-my-mind-but-i-couldn-t-undo-the-fact-that-i/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [“Everything faded into mist. The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/everything-faded-into-mist-the-past-was-erased-the-erasure-was/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“He traced the constellations as they slid their way across the roof of the world from dusk till dawn. The precision of it, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-stedman/he-traced-the-constellations-as-they-slid-their-way-across-the-roof/) [M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) > [“The accounts of rape, wife beating, forced childbearing, medical butchering, sex-motivated murder, forced prostitution, physical mutilation, sadistic psychological abuse, and other commonplaces of female…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/the-accounts-of-rape-wife-beating-forced-childbearing-medical/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [If we can revert to the truth, then a great deal of one's suffering can be erased, because a great deal of one's suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/if-we-can-revert-to-the-truth-then-a-great-deal-of-one-s-suffering/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [Was their love worth the erasure of the world and all its stories?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-kate/was-their-love-worth-the-erasure-of-the-world-and-all-its-stories/) [Lauren Kate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-kate/) > [“At the kitchen table she examined the glass of ice. Each cube was rounded by room temperature, dissolving in its own remains, and belatedly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/at-the-kitchen-table-she-examined-the-glass-of-ice-each-cube-was/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“When you’re persistently deleted from history, media, and any other channel to access information – or that information is distorted – it’s far worse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-b-dallocchio/when-you-re-persistently-deleted-from-history-media-and-any-other/) [M.B. Dallocchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-b-dallocchio/) > [For a long time, I've been interested in cultural memory and historical erasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethewey/for-a-long-time-i-ve-been-interested-in-cultural-memory-and/) [Natasha Trethewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethewey/) > [The erasure itself became the action. It seemed to suggest a moment in terms of how sad or pessimistic you can feel in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-mehretu/the-erasure-itself-became-the-action-it-seemed-to-suggest-a-moment-in/) [Julie Mehretu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-mehretu/) > [I grew up as a step-kid, always a little outside, always trying hard to follow and fit in. But over time, I've come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-grew-up-as-a-step-kid-always-a-little-outside-always-trying-hard-to/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Sometimes fear grips me that these fragile moments of life will fade away. It seems that I write against erasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assia-djebar/sometimes-fear-grips-me-that-these-fragile-moments-of-life-will-fade/) [Assia Djebar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/assia-djebar/) > [“Writing is not destined to leave traces, but to erase, by traces, all traces, to disappear in the fragmentary space of writing more definitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/writing-is-not-destined-to-leave-traces-but-to-erase-by-traces-all/) [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) > [Memory is this one attempt to not be erased by time. And I think that ties back to what I learned watching my grandmother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/memory-is-this-one-attempt-to-not-be-erased-by-time-and-i-think-that/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [When I have my students do erasures, I'm always amazed by the way their voice comes through, whether they're doing an erasure of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/when-i-have-my-students-do-erasures-i-m-always-amazed-by-the-way/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) ## More by Jesmyn Ward > [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/) > [I think that voodoo as a spiritual tradition has been demonized for so long in popular culture. I wanted to write against that and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-think-that-voodoo-as-a-spiritual-tradition-has-been-demonized-for/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [There's so much I love about home, but then there's a lot that I can acknowledge that I dislike about home. And acknowledging that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/there-s-so-much-i-love-about-home-but-then-there-s-a-lot-that-i-can/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“The dream of her was the glow of a spent fire on a cold night: warm and welcoming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/the-dream-of-her-was-the-glow-of-a-spent-fire-on-a-cold-night-warm/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [The first writer that I think of immediately that I studied with at Michigan is Peter Ho Davies. He was really important to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/the-first-writer-that-i-think-of-immediately-that-i-studied-with-at/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [I feel like so much of what happened in the Delta over the decades since slavery was abolished seems much closer in the Delta,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-feel-like-so-much-of-what-happened-in-the-delta-over-the-decades/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“Vines catch my arms, my head; we tear through until we break out into the clearing before the fence, the field, the barn, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/vines-catch-my-arms-my-head-we-tear-through-until-we-break-out-into/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“Before all the little mean things she told me gathered and gathered and lodged like grit in a skinned knee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/before-all-the-little-mean-things-she-told-me-gathered-and-gathered/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [People give the South a bad rap. It's often stereotyped as backwards and close-minded and dogmatic, and all of those things have been true.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/people-give-the-south-a-bad-rap-it-s-often-stereotyped-as-backwards/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [By the time I wrote my memoir, 'Men We Reaped,' I had been running from writing it for a long time. When the events…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/by-the-time-i-wrote-my-memoir-men-we-reaped-i-had-been-running-from/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When I was a teenager, I was the only black girl at a small, private Episcopal school, where my tuition was paid by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/when-i-was-a-teenager-i-was-the-only-black-girl-at-a-small-private/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [She was the murderous mother who cut us to the bone but left us alive, left us naked and bewildered as wrinkled newborn babies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/she-was-the-murderous-mother-who-cut-us-to-the-bone-but-left-us-alive/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [I hope people who read my books feel empathy for us and really see us as complicated people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-hope-people-who-read-my-books-feel-empathy-for-us-and-really-see-us/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When I was writing my first novel, 'Where the Line Bleeds,' which had young black men as its main characters, I was very invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/when-i-was-writing-my-first-novel-where-the-line-bleeds-which-had/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“Lot of folks was in there for stealing food because everybody was poor and starving, and even though White people couldn’t get your work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/lot-of-folks-was-in-there-for-stealing-food-because-everybody-was/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) [Explore all 242 Jesmyn Ward quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) ## More Erased quotes > [“The next morning, the refugees rose from their agitation to the realization that they were slowly being erased from the world, from its history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-next-morning-the-refugees-rose-from-their-agitation-to-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fame is like a big eraser. It's strange, now that I'm famous. In my parents' opinion, all the shitty things - all the wreckage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobcat-goldthwait/fame-is-like-a-big-eraser-it-s-strange-now-that-i-m-famous-in-my/) [Bobcat Goldthwait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobcat-goldthwait/) > [“I knew we'd cross the line, so I quietly erased it while you weren't looking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-wolchin/i-knew-we-d-cross-the-line-so-i-quietly-erased-it-while-you-weren-t/) [Rachel Wolchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-wolchin/) > [“To recklessly excuse a failure is to believe that I’ve effectively erased it from the story of my life, when I’ve actually imprinted it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/to-recklessly-excuse-a-failure-is-to-believe-that-i-ve-effectively/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [“Our family history was erased and rewritten a thousand times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/our-family-history-was-erased-and-rewritten-a-thousand-times/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“Our first kiss was going to be the lasting kind. The kind she’d never forget. The kiss that erased all others from her past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devney-perry/our-first-kiss-was-going-to-be-the-lasting-kind-the-kind-she-d-never/) [Devney Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devney-perry/) > [Pain is erased when inflicted upon others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crixus/pain-is-erased-when-inflicted-upon-others/) [Crixus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crixus/) > [The past cannot be changed,forgotten,edited or erased.it can only be accepted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-past-cannot-be-changed-forgotten-edited-or-erased-it-can-only-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hillary has now erased all of her emails, and she also had all of her pantsuits dry cleaned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/hillary-has-now-erased-all-of-her-emails-and-she-also-had-all-of-her/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [I'm glad Wu-Tang was able to inspire other producers and artists, but I would never want to be erased or removed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rza/i-m-glad-wu-tang-was-able-to-inspire-other-producers-and-artists-but/) [Rza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rza/) > [“My memories will be erased and then I'll be force-fed the story from the society pages?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/my-memories-will-be-erased-and-then-i-ll-be-force-fed-the-story-from/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [ “\[Graffiti\] gets erased and painted over, and maybe it's even more beautiful because we know it won't last.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-lichtman/graffiti-gets-erased-and-painted-over-and-maybe-it-s-even-more/) [Wendy Lichtman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-lichtman/) > [They say time heals and makes us forget but what we shared will never be erased](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-say-time-heals-and-makes-us-forget-but-what-we-shared-will-never/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The margins don't get erased by simply insisting that the powers-that-be erase them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/the-margins-don-t-get-erased-by-simply-insisting-that-the-powers-that/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [When you got born again your past was not erased, it became non-existent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-oyakhilome/when-you-got-born-again-your-past-was-not-erased-it-became-non/) [Chris Oyakhilome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-oyakhilome/) [Browse all 92 Erased quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erased/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I thought about all those people whose suffering had been erased, and I thought, 'Why can't they speak? 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