““You never stop to think how the history of whiteness in America is one long scroll of affirmative action. You never stop to think that Babe Ruth never had to play the greatest players of his generation - just the greatest white players. You never stop to think that most of our presidents never rose to the top because they bested the competition - just the white competition. White privilege is a self-selecting tool that keeps you from having to compete with the best. The history of white folk gaining access to Harvard, Princeton, or Yale is the history of white folk deciding ahead of the game that you were superior. You argue that slots in school should be reserved for your kin, because, after all, they are smarter, more disciplined, better suited, and more deserving that inferior blacks.””
![“[On affirmative action:] Universities give a boost in admissions for other factors besides race, factors that bring no social benefit, such as athletic ability, celebrity of parents, and alumni connections. It is remarkable how little agitation there is against those practices.” quote by Barbara Bergmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/974/barbara-bergmann-64259_ability_on-affirmative-action-universities-give_2483440.jpg)
![“What are you for? It may be, to a degree, consoling that white brothers and sisters did not vote for [Donald] Trump, and do not participate in that brand of animus, that gas-bagging of enormous bigotry.” quote by Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/01d/michael-eric-dyson-1424_animus_what-are-you-for-it-may-be-to-a-degree-c_14940.jpg)
![“I've written a lot of other books and this book [Tears we cannot stop] was different. I couldn't just say what I wanted to say in the same style that I said it in those other books. I felt compelled to preach.” quote by Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f3e/michael-eric-dyson-1424_book_i-ve-written-a-lot-of-other-books-and-th_45441.jpg)
![“Elvis [Presley] had a stepstool, if you will, to success because he came from the dominant culture. They identified with him. Michael Jackson had to come further and go deeper into the pit of possibility of American democracy and of cultural expression.” quote by Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/28f/michael-eric-dyson-1424_american-democracy_elvis-presley-had-a-stepstool-if-you-wil_62719.jpg)
