--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I came back, after all those stories…" description: "\"When I came back, after all those stories about Hitler and his snub, I came back to my native country, and I could not ride in the front of the bus. I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ea/jesse-owens-11808_bus_when-i-came-back-after-all-those-stories_11537.jpg" --- # When I came back, after all those stories about Hitler and… ![“When I came back, after all those stories about Hitler and his snub, I came back to my native country, and I could not ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn't live where I wanted. Now what's the difference?” quote by Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ea/jesse-owens-11808_bus_when-i-came-back-after-all-those-stories_11537.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ea/jesse-owens-11808_bus_when-i-came-back-after-all-those-stories_11537.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ea/jesse-owens-11808_bus_when-i-came-back-after-all-those-stories_11537.jpg) > “When I came back, after all those stories about Hitler and his snub, I came back to my native country, and I could not ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn't live where I wanted. Now what's the difference?” [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on post‑war displacement and lingering discrimination, noting that despite surviving oppression, they still face segregation and loss of agency. **In simple terms:** Enduring marginalization after conflict Key Takeaway Freedom can be restricted despite survival Themes displacement segregation post‑war trauma identity social injustice Mood defiant reflective somber Type personal narrative political commentary When to use this quote - returning home after exile - being denied public spaces - living under restrictive laws - navigating social hierarchies Key Concepts racial inequality political exile personal autonomy Practical Applications - advocacy for civil rights - policy reform for equal access Questions to Reflect On - What does true freedom mean in a post‑conflict society? - How can societies reconcile past oppression with present inclusion? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Difference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difference/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ## Related quotes > [“Oh, he'd be back all right! Giving her the last laugh before she moved out. And that was why she hadn't moved out yet.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-rogers/oh-he-d-be-back-all-right-giving-her-the-last-laugh-before-she-moved/) [Rosemary Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-rogers/) > [The world does not need tourists who ride by in a bus clucking their tongues. The world as it is needs those who will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/the-world-does-not-need-tourists-who-ride-by-in-a-bus-clucking-their/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [In the Fifties, there were certain places we couldn't ride on the bus, and now there is a possibility of a black man being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/in-the-fifties-there-were-certain-places-we-couldn-t-ride-on-the-bus/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [I do periodically ride a bus with my kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-pritzker/i-do-periodically-ride-a-bus-with-my-kids/) [J. B. Pritzker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-b-pritzker/) > [Everyone should ride the bus so that I can drive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-montgomery/everyone-should-ride-the-bus-so-that-i-can-drive/) Charles Montgomery > [I don't ride the bus , the subway is more underground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-ride-the-bus-the-subway-is-more-underground/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Even if we had to go back, I decided it was worth it to ride that bus all the way out here. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ryan-hyde/even-if-we-had-to-go-back-i-decided-it-was-worth-it-to-ride-that-bus/) [Catherine Ryan Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ryan-hyde/) > [“We don't really consider ourselves famous. we're just four dorks who ride around on a bus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-time-rush/we-don-t-really-consider-ourselves-famous-we-re-just-four-dorks-who/) [Big Time Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-time-rush/) > [I shoot fantasy. If you want reality, ride the bus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lachapelle/i-shoot-fantasy-if-you-want-reality-ride-the-bus/) [David LaChapelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lachapelle/) > [Mama, I know you used to ride the bus. Riding the bus and it’s hot and bumpy and crowded and too noisy and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-norman/mama-i-know-you-used-to-ride-the-bus-riding-the-bus-and-it-s-hot-and/) [Marsha Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-norman/) > [Mama, I know you used to ride the bus. Riding the bus, and it’s hot and bumpy and crowded and too noisy, and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-norman/mama-i-know-you-used-to-ride-the-bus-riding-the-bus-and-it-s-hot-and-2/) [Marsha Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-norman/) > [“Oh, never trust a country That won’t permit live poultry to ride on the bus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/oh-never-trust-a-country-that-won-t-permit-live-poultry-to-ride-on/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [We are not better than native born Americans, and of course not smarter. We’ve just been to the last stop of this bus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-dovlatov/we-are-not-better-than-native-born-americans-and-of-course-not/) [Sergei Dovlatov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-dovlatov/) > [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. If you approach me at a bus stop and murmur Thou still unravished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/literature-transforms-and-intensifies-ordinary-language-deviates/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“You go into extinction by being obsessed about becoming something else and then travelling in the wrong car while your real self keeps waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-go-into-extinction-by-being-obsessed-about-becoming-something/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) ## More by Jesse Owens > [When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/when-i-passed-the-chancellor-he-arose-waved-his-hand-at-me-and-i/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [I'd noticed him watching me for a year or so, especially when we'd play games where there was running or jumping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/i-d-noticed-him-watching-me-for-a-year-or-so-especially-when-we-d/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [Joe Louis and I were the first modern national sports figures who were black... But neither of us could do national advertising because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/joe-louis-and-i-were-the-first-modern-national-sports-figures-who/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [A lifetime of training for just ten seconds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/a-lifetime-of-training-for-just-ten-seconds/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [The secret is, first, get a thoroughbred horse because they are the most nervous animals on earth. Then get the biggest gun you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/the-secret-is-first-get-a-thoroughbred-horse-because-they-are-the/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [It all goes so fast, and character makes the difference when it's close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/it-all-goes-so-fast-and-character-makes-the-difference-when-it-s-close/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [If you don't try to win you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody's back yard. The thrill of competing carries with it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/if-you-don-t-try-to-win-you-might-as-well-hold-the-olympics-in/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [“In America anyone can still become someone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/in-america-anyone-can-still-become-someone/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [To a sprinter, the hundred-yard dash is over in three seconds, not nine or ten. The first 'second' is when you come out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/to-a-sprinter-the-hundred-yard-dash-is-over-in-three-seconds-not-nine/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [It dawned on me with blinding brightness. I realized: I had jumped into another rare kind of stratosphere - one that only a handful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/it-dawned-on-me-with-blinding-brightness-i-realized-i-had-jumped-into/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [I always loved running... it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/i-always-loved-running-it-was-something-you-could-do-by-yourself-and/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [We used to have a lot of fun. We never had any problems. We always ate. The fact that we didn't have steak? Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/we-used-to-have-a-lot-of-fun-we-never-had-any-problems-we-always-ate/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [She (Minnie Ruth Solomon) was unusual because even though I knew her family was as poor as ours, nothing she said or did seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/she-minnie-ruth-solomon-was-unusual-because-even-though-i-knew-her/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [There is something that can happen to every athlete and every human being; the instinct to slack off, to give in to pain, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/there-is-something-that-can-happen-to-every-athlete-and-every-human/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [It was bad enough to have toppled from the Olympic heights to make my living competing with animals. But the competition wasn't even fair.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/it-was-bad-enough-to-have-toppled-from-the-olympic-heights-to-make-my/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) [Explore all 57 Jesse Owens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) ## More Bus quotes > [“You go into extinction by being obsessed about becoming something else and then travelling in the wrong car while your real self keeps waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-go-into-extinction-by-being-obsessed-about-becoming-something/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. If you approach me at a bus stop and murmur Thou still unravished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/literature-transforms-and-intensifies-ordinary-language-deviates/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [I only started driving lessons because of comedy - before that, there's be no need. There was a bus from where I lived to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-millican/i-only-started-driving-lessons-because-of-comedy-before-that-there-s/) [Sarah Millican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-millican/) > [I've been so lucky with the people I've worked with, but I'm such a fan girl. When I moved to London at 16, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheridan-smith/i-ve-been-so-lucky-with-the-people-i-ve-worked-with-but-i-m-such-a/) [Sheridan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheridan-smith/) > [No-deal Brexit could be Boris Johnson's biggest deception yet - worse than the Boris bus or the lies that had him sacked as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-davey/no-deal-brexit-could-be-boris-johnson-s-biggest-deception-yet-worse/) [Ed Davey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-davey/) > [I'm very proud of being Italian-American, but people don't realize that the mafia is just this aberration. The real community is built on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chazz-palminteri/i-m-very-proud-of-being-italian-american-but-people-don-t-realize/) [Chazz Palminteri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chazz-palminteri/) > [The idea of photography as evidence is pure bullshit. A photo is no more proof of any reality than what you may hear being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-riboud/the-idea-of-photography-as-evidence-is-pure-bullshit-a-photo-is-no/) [Marc Riboud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-riboud/) > [I don't think anything happens without the press, one way or the other. I think it's all done for it. You saw it start,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/i-don-t-think-anything-happens-without-the-press-one-way-or-the-other/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [And the flavor of Pippa's kiss--bittersweet and strange--stayed with me all the way back uptown, swaying and sleepy as I sailed home on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-the-flavor-of-pippa-s-kiss-bittersweet-and-strange-stayed-with-me/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Our bodies penetrate the sofas upon which we sit and the sofas penetrate our bodies. The motorbus rushes into the houses which it passes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-boccioni/our-bodies-penetrate-the-sofas-upon-which-we-sit-and-the-sofas/) [Umberto Boccioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-boccioni/) > [Back in the day, when we'd get into a town, I would go in the phone book and look up record stores. Then I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-schneider/back-in-the-day-when-we-d-get-into-a-town-i-would-go-in-the-phone/) [Fred Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-schneider/) > [I quietly work with my computer on the tour bus, and then I wait to make my more natural rhythms when I get home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jain/i-quietly-work-with-my-computer-on-the-tour-bus-and-then-i-wait-to/) [Jain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jain/) > [I can see that I imagine all kinds of rejection that never happens. I can see that I beg and plead for love that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-can-see-that-i-imagine-all-kinds-of-rejection-that-never-happens-i/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [Perhaps we've time to have a look at the Number Thirty-One bus queue before we turn in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-trillin/perhaps-we-ve-time-to-have-a-look-at-the-number-thirty-one-bus-queue/) [Calvin Trillin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-trillin/) > [The majority of the Negroes who took part in the year-long boycott of Montgomery's buses were poor and untutored; but they understood the essence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-majority-of-the-negroes-who-took-part-in-the-year-long-boycott-of/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) Browse all 1,135 Bus quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I came back, after all those stories about Hitler and his snub, I came back to my native country, and I could not ride in the front of the bus. 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