--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In his campaign for the presidency…" description: "\"“In his campaign for the presidency, Reagan mastered the \"excision of the language of race from conservative public discourse\"… For example, when Reaga..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/895/michelle-alexander-750_civil-rights_in-his-campaign-for-the-presidency-reaga_455676.png" --- # In his campaign for the presidency, Reagan mastered the… ![“In his campaign for the presidency, Reagan mastered the "excision of the language of race from conservative public discourse"… For example, when Reagan kicked off his presidential campaign at the annual Neshoba County fair near Philadelphia, Mississippi - the town were three civil rights activists…” quote by Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/895/michelle-alexander-750_civil-rights_in-his-campaign-for-the-presidency-reaga_455676.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/895/michelle-alexander-750_civil-rights_in-his-campaign-for-the-presidency-reaga_455676.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/895/michelle-alexander-750_civil-rights_in-his-campaign-for-the-presidency-reaga_455676.png) > ““In his campaign for the presidency, Reagan mastered the "excision of the language of race from conservative public discourse"… For example, when Reagan kicked off his presidential campaign at the annual Neshoba County fair near Philadelphia, Mississippi - the town were three civil rights activists were murdered in 1964 - he assured the crowd "I believe and states rights," and promised to restore to states and local government the power that properly belonged to them. His critics promptly alleged that he was signaling a racial message to his audience, suggesting allegiance with those who resisted desegregation, but Reagan firmly denied it, forcing liberals into a position that would soon become familiar, arguing that something is racist but finding it impossible to prove in the absence of explicitly racist language. (48)”” [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Political rhetoric can strip explicit racial language while preserving discriminatory intent, making racism harder to expose. **In simple terms:** Racism can hide behind neutral words. Key Takeaway Critically examine language for hidden bias. Themes racism political rhetoric equality Mood critical analytical Type sociopolitical educational When to use this quote - legislation - public speeches - media analysis - activism Key Concepts critical race theory public policy Questions to Reflect On - How can we detect covert racism? - What role does language play in shaping policy? A Different Perspective Denial of racism can stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civil Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-right/) [Civil rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights/) [County fair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/county-fair/) [Desegregation Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desegregation-reagan-3967448/) [Example Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example-reagan-3967449/) [Local government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/local-government/) [Presidency Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presidency-reagan-3420282/) [Presidential campaign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presidential-campaign/) [Race Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race-conservative-2964584/) [Racist Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racist-language-932891/) [States rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states-rights/) ## Related quotes > [“To great effect, Reagan echoed white frustration in race-neutral terms through implicit racial appeals. His 'color-blind' rhetoric on crime, welfare, taxes, and states' rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/to-great-effect-reagan-echoed-white-frustration-in-race-neutral-terms/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [ I am as conservative as anyone running in this \[president's\] race, but I am a conservative that can win. That's a big deal. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/i-am-as-conservative-as-anyone-running-in-this-president-s-race-but-i/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [Even if it wasn't always morning in America during the years of his presidency, Reagan's eagerness to insist that it was tapped into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/even-if-it-wasn-t-always-morning-in-america-during-the-years-of-his/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [Sexist language, racist language, theistic language - all are typical of the policing languages of mastery, and cannot, do not, permit new knowledge or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/sexist-language-racist-language-theistic-language-all-are-typical-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“The systematic looting of language can be recognized by the tendency of its users to forgo its nuanced, complex, mid-wifery properties for menace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/the-systematic-looting-of-language-can-be-recognized-by-the-tendency/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [There's no question that Donald Trump has had ample opportunity to distance himself from the kind of racist language that comes from some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-brazile/there-s-no-question-that-donald-trump-has-had-ample-opportunity-to/) [Donna Brazile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-brazile/) > [Freedom of expression is not absolute. Countries have laws that define the framework for exercising this right and which, for instance, condemn racist language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/freedom-of-expression-is-not-absolute-countries-have-laws-that-define/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I judged entertainers who worked county fairs at age 55 because they had to. Now I get it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinbad/i-judged-entertainers-who-worked-county-fairs-at-age-55-because-they/) [Sinbad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinbad/) > [“Here I was, telling him a heartwarming story about my first and only pet, a goldfish that died the day after I won it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-castle/here-i-was-telling-him-a-heartwarming-story-about-my-first-and-only/) [Nicole Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-castle/) > [“But my brain winds and wends. Back and forth. Up and down. It feels like the county fair has inhabited my mind-- complete with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-munson/but-my-brain-winds-and-wends-back-and-forth-up-and-down-it-feels-like/) [Laura Munson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-munson/) > [“Down in the kitchen, I open the refrigerator. There is nothing there but the prize steer of the county fair, rearranged in neat and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-williams/down-in-the-kitchen-i-open-the-refrigerator-there-is-nothing-there/) [Joy Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-williams/) > [“If you’re single and you’re not having the greatest fun of your life, it’s high time to reassess your priorities. It may be hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/if-you-re-single-and-you-re-not-having-the-greatest-fun-of-your-life/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) > [If you've ever noticed, beauty pageants are a lot like county fairs. The farmers show the cows the same way. They walk their prized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-argov/if-you-ve-ever-noticed-beauty-pageants-are-a-lot-like-county-fairs/) [Sherry Argov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-argov/) > [“It was the way your sweet, soft hands wiped away my tears, and the way your body just curved into mine when you let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/it-was-the-way-your-sweet-soft-hands-wiped-away-my-tears-and-the-way/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [From food trucks to hot dog stands to county fair favorites, 'street food' has enjoyed a rich and storied history in American cuisine. However,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homaro-cantu/from-food-trucks-to-hot-dog-stands-to-county-fair-favorites-street/) [Homaro Cantu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homaro-cantu/) ## More by Michelle Alexander > [If you ask for good schools, you aren't likely to get them. If you ask for jobs or economic investment, you won't get that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-ask-for-good-schools-you-aren-t-likely-to-get-them-if-you-ask/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The uncomfortable reality we must face is that California, like the nation as a whole, has treated generations of African Americans and Latinos as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-uncomfortable-reality-we-must-face-is-that-california-like-the/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Seeing race is not the problem. Refusing to care for the people we see is the problem. The fact that the meaning of race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/seeing-race-is-not-the-problem-refusing-to-care-for-the-people-we-see/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Since the nations founding, African Americans repeatedly have been controlled through institutions such as slavery and Jim Crow, which appear to die but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/since-the-nations-founding-african-americans-repeatedly-have-been/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Felon disenfranchisement laws have been more effective in eliminating black voters in the age of mass incarceration than they were under Jim Crow…These figures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/felon-disenfranchisement-laws-have-been-more-effective-in-eliminating/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“That was King’s dream—a society that is capable of seeing each of us, as we are, with love. That is a goal worth fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/that-was-king-s-dream-a-society-that-is-capable-of-seeing-each-of-us/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Activists take the risks, while advocates are professional tinkerers with the system. What's necessary is for those who are advocates to support those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/activists-take-the-risks-while-advocates-are-professional-tinkerers/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Civil rights protests were frequently depicted as criminal rather than political in nature, and federal courts were accused of excessive “lenience” toward lawlessness, thereby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/civil-rights-protests-were-frequently-depicted-as-criminal-rather/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [We cannot 'fix' the police without a revolution of values and radical change to the basic structure of our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/we-cannot-fix-the-police-without-a-revolution-of-values-and-radical/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If we continue to tell ourselves the popular myths about racial progress or, worse yet, if we say to ourselves that the problem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-we-continue-to-tell-ourselves-the-popular-myths-about-racial/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The mass incarceration of poor people of color, particularly black men, has emerged as a new caste system, one specifically designed to address the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-mass-incarceration-of-poor-people-of-color-particularly-black-men/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [ “\[T\]he slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery. —W.E.B Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/t-he-slave-went-free-stood-a-brief-moment-in-the-sun-then-moved-back/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If you take into account prisoners, a large majority of African American men in some urban areas, like Chicago, have been labeled felons for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-take-into-account-prisoners-a-large-majority-of-african/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“A new civil rights movement cannot be organized around the relics of the earlier system of control if it is to address meaningfully the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/a-new-civil-rights-movement-cannot-be-organized-around-the-relics-of/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The rules and reasons the political system employs to enforce status relations of any kind, including racial hierarchy, evolve and change as they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-rules-and-reasons-the-political-system-employs-to-enforce-status/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Explore all 381 Michelle Alexander quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## More Civil rights quotes > [Every one knows that the exercise of military power is forever dangerous to civil rights; and we have had recent instances of violences that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/every-one-knows-that-the-exercise-of-military-power-is-forever/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-for-freedom-of-religion-and-against-all-maneuvers-to-bring-about/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I speak not for myself, but so those without a voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights. Their right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/i-speak-not-for-myself-but-so-those-without-a-voice-can-be-heard/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [The Patriot Act is certainly a concern; all of those things are dangerous. I think more important than me preaching is that we as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-patriot-act-is-certainly-a-concern-all-of-those-things-are/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [American civil rights leader, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Lynching is a murder. For the past four hundred years our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/american-civil-rights-leader-where-do-we-go-from-here-chaos-or/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“Why do we apologize for advocating for ourselves? Why do we apologize for taking up space that we are entitled to? Why do we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-tambascio/why-do-we-apologize-for-advocating-for-ourselves-why-do-we-apologize/) [Elizabeth Tambascio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-tambascio/) > [We are a nation of innovators and problem-solvers who sparked revolutions in democratic government, civil rights, communications, flight, rural electrification and technology. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-a-mcchrystal/we-are-a-nation-of-innovators-and-problem-solvers-who-sparked/) [Stanley A. McChrystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-a-mcchrystal/) > [“Mental illness is not something you misunderstand in this era. Get educated because bias is no different than racism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/mental-illness-is-not-something-you-misunderstand-in-this-era-get/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Civil rights leaders are involved in helping poor people. That's what I've been doing all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/civil-rights-leaders-are-involved-in-helping-poor-people-that-s-what/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [I grew up in the early '60s, and there was a lot of civil rights, a lot of unrest in our country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herm-edwards/i-grew-up-in-the-early-60s-and-there-was-a-lot-of-civil-rights-a-lot/) [Herm Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herm-edwards/) > [The great paradox of the civil rights revolution is that instead of enforcing and expanding equality before the law, the revolution created differential rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-great-paradox-of-the-civil-rights-revolution-is-that-instead-of/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [The world - and America - has been defined by people who haven't necessarily abided by the laws and the rules. Civil disobedience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-kennedy/the-world-and-america-has-been-defined-by-people-who-haven-t/) [Rory Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-kennedy/) > [I do not believe that defending traditional marriage between one man and one woman excludes anybody or usurps anybody's civil rights and denies anybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-autry/i-do-not-believe-that-defending-traditional-marriage-between-one-man/) [Alan Autry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-autry/) > [Truth is on the side of the oppressed today, it's against the oppressor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/truth-is-on-the-side-of-the-oppressed-today-it-s-against-the-oppressor/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [The notion of women being written out of history is as old as the Bible, but it always seems more galling when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thornberry/the-notion-of-women-being-written-out-of-history-is-as-old-as-the/) [Emily Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thornberry/) [Browse all 1,552 Civil rights quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In his campaign for the presidency, Reagan mastered the \"excision of the language of race from conservative public discourse\"… For example, when Reagan kicked off his presidential campaign at the annual Neshoba County fair near Philadelphia, Mississippi - the town were three civil rights activists were murdered in 1964 - he assured the crowd \"I believe and states rights,\" and promised to restore to states and local government the power that properly belonged to them. His critics promptly alleged that he was signaling a racial message to his audience, suggesting allegiance with those who resisted desegregation, but Reagan firmly denied it, forcing liberals into a position that would soon become familiar, arguing that something is racist but finding it impossible to prove in the absence of explicitly racist language. 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