--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have avoided in recent years talking…" description: "\"We have avoided in recent years talking openly and honestly about race out of fear that it will alienate and polarize. In my own view, it’s our refusal..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/michelle-alexander-750_avoided_we-have-avoided-in-recent-years-talking_760146.png" --- # We have avoided in recent years talking openly and… ![“We have avoided in recent years talking openly and honestly about race out of fear that it will alienate and polarize. In my own view, it’s our refusal to deal openly and honestly with race that leads us to keep repeating these cycles of exclusion and division, and rebirthing a caste-like system…” quote by Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/michelle-alexander-750_avoided_we-have-avoided-in-recent-years-talking_760146.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/michelle-alexander-750_avoided_we-have-avoided-in-recent-years-talking_760146.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/michelle-alexander-750_avoided_we-have-avoided-in-recent-years-talking_760146.png) > “We have avoided in recent years talking openly and honestly about race out of fear that it will alienate and polarize. In my own view, it’s our refusal to deal openly and honestly with race that leads us to keep repeating these cycles of exclusion and division, and rebirthing a caste-like system that we claim we’ve left behind” [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. Avoiding honest discussions about race perpetuates division and a hidden caste system. **In simple terms:** Not talking about race keeps inequality alive. Key Takeaway Speak openly about race to break cycles. Themes race justice division systemic inequality dialogue Mood reflective serious Type educational activist When to use this quote - workplace meetings - community forums - policy debates - educational curricula Key Concepts social hierarchy implicit bias structural racism Questions to Reflect On - How can we create safe spaces for race dialogue? - What personal biases hinder open conversation? A Different Perspective Fear of alienation can silence necessary truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Avoided](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avoided/) [Behinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behinds/) [Castes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/castes/) [Claims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claims/) [Cycles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cycles/) [Deals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals/) [Division](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/division/) [Exclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exclusion/) [Honestly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honestly/) [Honestly Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honestly-race-5897242/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Left behind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-behind/) [My own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-own/) [Openly Honestly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/openly-honestly-1623658/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Race Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race-fear-2576114/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Refusal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refusal/) [Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking/) [Talking Openly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking-openly-833679/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [Once you're labeled a felon, the old forms of discrimination - employment discrimination, housing discrimination, denial of the right to vote, denial of educational…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/once-you-re-labeled-a-felon-the-old-forms-of-discrimination/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [I'd gone through life being obsessed about my sexuality. 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