--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In 1967, I had my first black girlfriend…" description: "\"In 1967, I had my first black girlfriend, and a lot more ever since then. I just don't understand racism. I never thought it was an option.\" — Lemmy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/887/lemmy-6565_black_in-1967-i-had-my-first-black-girlfriend_530003.jpg" --- # In 1967, I had my first black girlfriend, and a lot more… ![“In 1967, I had my first black girlfriend, and a lot more ever since then. I just don't understand racism. I never thought it was an option.” quote by Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/887/lemmy-6565_black_in-1967-i-had-my-first-black-girlfriend_530003.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/887/lemmy-6565_black_in-1967-i-had-my-first-black-girlfriend_530003.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/887/lemmy-6565_black_in-1967-i-had-my-first-black-girlfriend_530003.jpg) > “In 1967, I had my first black girlfriend, and a lot more ever since then. I just don't understand racism. I never thought it was an option.” [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unexpected personal relationships reveal deep societal contradictions like racism. **In simple terms:** Relationships expose racism. Key Takeaway Recognize and confront hidden bias. Themes racism relationships self-reflection Mood contemplative serious Type social personal When to use this quote - dating - community building - education programs Key Concepts Social justice personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you hold about race? - How can personal experience drive social change? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-girl/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [“One of his black girlfriends did once persuade him to go on an anti-racist demonstration; and when the National Front yelled, "Get back, Pakis!"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/one-of-his-black-girlfriends-did-once-persuade-him-to-go-on-an-anti/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [“Kera came out of another room, dragging an unhappy Vig Rundstom behind her. The two Crows pushed the men together until they faced each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-laurenston/kera-came-out-of-another-room-dragging-an-unhappy-vig-rundstom-behind/) [Shelly Laurenston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-laurenston/) > [He moved to run a hand through her cornrows, then pulled back remembering the one time he's tried that-Connie had lectured him on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/he-moved-to-run-a-hand-through-her-cornrows-then-pulled-back/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) > [I never suffered anti-Semitic racism because no one thought I was Jewish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-okonedo/i-never-suffered-anti-semitic-racism-because-no-one-thought-i-was/) [Sophie Okonedo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-okonedo/) > [“credit, youre jewish, your best friend is black, and your girlfriend is a cheating whore. Even if I wore gay, I'd still have it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/credit-youre-jewish-your-best-friend-is-black-and-your-girlfriend-is/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [Until white people understand that racism is embedded in everything, including our consciousness and socialisation, then we cannot go forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-diangelo/until-white-people-understand-that-racism-is-embedded-in-everything/) [Robin DiAngelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-diangelo/) > [We're not a racist organization, because we understand that racism is an excuse used for capitalism, and we know that racism is just -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hampton/we-re-not-a-racist-organization-because-we-understand-that-racism-is/) [Fred Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hampton/) > [“A vision of cultural homogeneity that seeks to deflect attention away from or even excuse the oppressive, dehumanizing impact of white supremacy on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/a-vision-of-cultural-homogeneity-that-seeks-to-deflect-attention-away/) [bell hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [One cannot understand how racism functions in the U.S. today if one ignores group power relations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-diangelo/one-cannot-understand-how-racism-functions-in-the-u-s-today-if-one/) [Robin DiAngelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-diangelo/) > [I didn't really understand racism because I grew up in an all-black society, so I didn't see how it was possible not to like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-didn-t-really-understand-racism-because-i-grew-up-in-an-all-black/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [Why is it so difficult for many white folks to understand that racism is oppressive not because white folks have prejudicial feelings about blacks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/why-is-it-so-difficult-for-many-white-folks-to-understand-that-racism/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [I don't understand racism. We are all the same and I have the perfect hypothesis to prove it. I play to all those countries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/i-don-t-understand-racism-we-are-all-the-same-and-i-have-the-perfect/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [I've been in this struggle for many years now. I understand racism. I understand that there are a lot of people in this country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-waters/i-ve-been-in-this-struggle-for-many-years-now-i-understand-racism-i/) [Maxine Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-waters/) > [Having a strong race lens means you understand racism is threaded through and institutionalized in all of our systems and our very perceptions, threaded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pramila-jayapal/having-a-strong-race-lens-means-you-understand-racism-is-threaded/) [Pramila Jayapal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pramila-jayapal/) > [The minute you understand racism, you're responsible for being racist. It's like eating from the tree of knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/the-minute-you-understand-racism-you-re-responsible-for-being-racist/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) ## More by Lemmy > [Eddie Cochran - I never got to see him live, but he could play. Him and Buddy Holly, they were the best guitarists. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/eddie-cochran-i-never-got-to-see-him-live-but-he-could-play-him-and/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) > ['Bomber' was the first song I wrote about war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/bomber-was-the-first-song-i-wrote-about-war/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) > [I don't really have the voice for love songs, do I?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/i-don-t-really-have-the-voice-for-love-songs-do-i/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) > [My hearing is usually O.K.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/my-hearing-is-usually-o-k/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) > [I like touring; I live on the road, more or less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/i-like-touring-i-live-on-the-road-more-or-less/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) > [All my dreams came true. There's not many people that can say that. I mean, most people have to work in a job they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/all-my-dreams-came-true-there-s-not-many-people-that-can-say-that-i/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) > [I always write about war, love, death, and injustice. There's plenty of that around, so I never run out of ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/i-always-write-about-war-love-death-and-injustice-there-s-plenty-of/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) > [From the beginning of time, the bad guys always had the best uniforms. Napoleon, the Confederates, the Nazis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/from-the-beginning-of-time-the-bad-guys-always-had-the-best-uniforms/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) > [It's very much up to you, how you shape your life. I mean, I missed out on human relationships. But looking at relationships that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/it-s-very-much-up-to-you-how-you-shape-your-life-i-mean-i-missed-out/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) > [The thing about death is it's so final, isn't it, really? As far as we know... Nobody has ever come back and told us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/the-thing-about-death-is-it-s-so-final-isn-t-it-really-as-far-as-we/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) > [Gay people are made and not born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/gay-people-are-made-and-not-born/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) > [Some songs, you just can't shake; they keep creeping back into your set list.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/some-songs-you-just-can-t-shake-they-keep-creeping-back-into-your-set/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) > [I once fell through a hole in the stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/i-once-fell-through-a-hole-in-the-stage/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) > [I was in the Rockin' Vicars, which was the first British band to tour behind the Iron Curtain. A lot of photos were taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/i-was-in-the-rockin-vicars-which-was-the-first-british-band-to-tour/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) > [I don't eat vegetables. I eat potatoes and green beans, and that's it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/i-don-t-eat-vegetables-i-eat-potatoes-and-green-beans-and-that-s-it/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) [Explore all 98 Lemmy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) ## 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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We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) Frank B. Wilderson III > [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/if-soot-stains-your-tunic-dye-it-black-this-is-vengeance/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) Browse all 11,655 Black quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In 1967, I had my first black girlfriend, and a lot more ever since then. I just don't understand racism. 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