--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's a history of enslaved…" description: "\"There's a history of enslaved African-Americans having to make their slave masters comfortable. This business of what we call skinning and grinning - t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/maxine-waters-3448_business_there-s-a-history-of-enslaved-african-am_422734.png" --- # There's a history of enslaved African-Americans having to… ![“There's a history of enslaved African-Americans having to make their slave masters comfortable. This business of what we call skinning and grinning - that is something African-Americans are very much cognizant of.” quote by Maxine Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/maxine-waters-3448_business_there-s-a-history-of-enslaved-african-am_422734.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/maxine-waters-3448_business_there-s-a-history-of-enslaved-african-am_422734.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/maxine-waters-3448_business_there-s-a-history-of-enslaved-african-am_422734.png) > “There's a history of enslaved African-Americans having to make their slave masters comfortable. This business of what we call skinning and grinning - that is something African-Americans are very much cognizant of.” [Maxine Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-waters/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. African-Americans often feel compelled to appease oppressors, masking true feelings for survival. **In simple terms:** People hide true feelings to please those in power. Key Takeaway Recognize and resist the pressure to please. Themes racial dynamics power authenticity psychology Mood reflective determined Type social political When to use this quote - workplace - family gatherings - political discourse - media representation Key Concepts systemic oppression self‑preservation social performance Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance authenticity with safety? - When does appeasement become self‑betrayal? A Different Perspective It can be risky to expose genuine emotions in hostile environments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Enslaved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enslaved/) [Enslaved African](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enslaved-african-2423167/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Enslaved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-enslaved-3651944/) [Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make/) [Much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/much/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Slave Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave-masters-654581/) [Something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something/) ## Related quotes > [It was the fall into history that enslaved us to the labor cycle, to the agricultural cycle. And notice how fiendish it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/it-was-the-fall-into-history-that-enslaved-us-to-the-labor-cycle-to/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“Enslaved African Americans built the modern United States, and indeed the entire modern world, in ways both obvious and hidden.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-e-baptist/enslaved-african-americans-built-the-modern-united-states-and-indeed/) [Edward E. Baptist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-e-baptist/) > [Stories about enslaved Africans can be depressing, exciting, educational and, yes, even entertaining depending on your taste. 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Saving them from their “wild African ways.” Same shit, different century.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-thomas/slave-masters-thought-they-were-making-a-difference-in-black-people-s-2/) [Angie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-thomas/) > [“Progressives have spent the better part of a hundred years pushing their agenda - and they've hijacked everything from our kindergartens to our colleges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/progressives-have-spent-the-better-part-of-a-hundred-years-pushing/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [“By the middle of the eighteenth century the black slave had sunk, with hushed murmurs, to his place at the bottom of a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/by-the-middle-of-the-eighteenth-century-the-black-slave-had-sunk-with/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) ## More by Maxine Waters > [I was very impressed with that that women have come here to say that we're going to fight you, Donald Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-waters/i-was-very-impressed-with-that-that-women-have-come-here-to-say-that/) [Maxine Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-waters/) > [President Trump basically has interfered with an investigation where he may be implicated. That's outrageous. 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We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-waters/the-women-s-movement-was-just-coming-into-being-and-i-got-involved/) [Maxine Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-waters/) > [It's time for the bully pulpit of the White House to bring the gangstas in, put them around the table and let them know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-waters/it-s-time-for-the-bully-pulpit-of-the-white-house-to-bring-the/) [Maxine Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-waters/) > [Policy, for the most part, has been made by white people in America, not by people of color. And they have tended to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-waters/policy-for-the-most-part-has-been-made-by-white-people-in-america-not/) [Maxine Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-waters/) > [If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-waters/if-china-is-not-going-to-solve-north-korea-we-will/) [Maxine Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-waters/) > [ \[Rex Tillerson\] is gonna continue to work on \[sanctions lifting\]. This is important for him. He was there \[in White House\] because he negotiated… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-waters/rex-tillerson-is-gonna-continue-to-work-on-sanctions-lifting-this-is/) [Maxine Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-waters/) > [I could not remove myself from this debate about Trump. I could not abide his indecency. 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