--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man, people don' need no monster to make…" description: "\"“Man, people don' need no monster to make 'em do evil-hearted shit. All it take is a brown face, or somebody wearin' old tore-up clothes.”\" — N.K. Jemisin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8d/n-k-jemisin-1466_black-people_man-people-don-need-no-monster-to-make-e_1916803.png" --- # Man, people don' need no monster to make 'em do… ![“Man, people don' need no monster to make 'em do evil-hearted shit. All it take is a brown face, or somebody wearin' old tore-up clothes.” quote by N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8d/n-k-jemisin-1466_black-people_man-people-don-need-no-monster-to-make-e_1916803.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8d/n-k-jemisin-1466_black-people_man-people-don-need-no-monster-to-make-e_1916803.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8d/n-k-jemisin-1466_black-people_man-people-don-need-no-monster-to-make-e_1916803.png) > ““Man, people don' need no monster to make 'em do evil-hearted shit. All it take is a brown face, or somebody wearin' old tore-up clothes.”” [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prejudice and dehumanization can drive ordinary people to commit cruelty without any supernatural catalyst. **In simple terms:** Bias fuels evil actions. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge bias. Themes prejudice dehumanization social injustice Mood critical reflective Type social commentary ethical When to use this quote - law enforcement - housing policy - education - media representation Key Concepts systemic racism identity power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does bias shape your decisions? - What steps can reduce prejudice? A Different Perspective Bias alone does not explain all violence; structural factors also matter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-people/) [Brown Face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brown-face-1599920/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Hearted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-hearted-2919226/) [Hearted Shit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hearted-shit-2919225/) [Man People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-people-1035091/) [Monster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monster/) [Monsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monsters/) [Poor people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-people/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [The kakapo is a bird out of time. If you look one in its large, round, greeny-brown face, it has a look of serenely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-kakapo-is-a-bird-out-of-time-if-you-look-one-in-its-large-round/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [I see the President almost every day. I see very plainly Abraham Lincoln's dark brown face with its deep-cut lines, the eyes always to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-see-the-president-almost-every-day-i-see-very-plainly-abraham/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“He was tall, and straight, with a lot of very thick, wild, white hair. In his grim brown face the nose curved fiercely, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/he-was-tall-and-straight-with-a-lot-of-very-thick-wild-white-hair-in/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) > [Travel moulds a man, people mould his wisdom and experiences mould his life...!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sujit-lalwani/travel-moulds-a-man-people-mould-his-wisdom-and-experiences-mould-his/) [Sujit Lalwani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sujit-lalwani/) > [Always talk to the man about people in such a way that he might tell them everything whatever you said about them, good or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/always-talk-to-the-man-about-people-in-such-a-way-that-he-might-tell/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [When nature removes a great man, people explore the horizon for a successor; but none comes, and none will. His class is extinguished with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/when-nature-removes-a-great-man-people-explore-the-horizon-for-a/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“That One Man (from The People Who Didn't Say Goodbye) There is always that one man who you can't avoid that one face that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merrit-malloy/that-one-man-from-the-people-who-didn-t-say-goodbye-there-is-always/) [Merrit Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merrit-malloy/) > [A sign of power in a man is not only when people follow what he suggests, but also when people make a conscious effort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/a-sign-of-power-in-a-man-is-not-only-when-people-follow-what-he/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [I don't consider myself no attractive man. People like Tom Jones and Elvis Presley - I'm not nothing like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/i-don-t-consider-myself-no-attractive-man-people-like-tom-jones-and/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [Lincoln, the Man of the People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-markham/lincoln-the-man-of-the-people/) [Edwin Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-markham/) > [To get what he wanted, a man had to give other people what they wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/to-get-what-he-wanted-a-man-had-to-give-other-people-what-they-wanted/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [The man who seeks to please God is the man who people are pleased with. The man who seeks to please others won't satisfy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-louis-cole/the-man-who-seeks-to-please-god-is-the-man-who-people-are-pleased/) [Edwin Louis Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-louis-cole/) > [In my view, the composer, just as the poet, the sculptor or the painter, is in duty bound to serve Man, the people. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-prokofiev/in-my-view-the-composer-just-as-the-poet-the-sculptor-or-the-painter/) [Sergei Prokofiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-prokofiev/) > [He was such a good man that people hated to see him coming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/he-was-such-a-good-man-that-people-hated-to-see-him-coming/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Money doesn't make the man. Some people have money, and some people are rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/money-doesn-t-make-the-man-some-people-have-money-and-some-people-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by N.K. Jemisin > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [You are Insignificant. One of millions, neither special nor unique. I did not ask for this ignominy, and I resent the comparison. Fine. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/you-are-insignificant-one-of-millions-neither-special-nor-unique-i/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“She feels closer than ever to her father in this moment of utter broken rage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/she-feels-closer-than-ever-to-her-father-in-this-moment-of-utter/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When a comm builds atop a fault line, do you blame its walls when they inevitably crush the people inside? No; you blame whoever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/when-a-comm-builds-atop-a-fault-line-do-you-blame-its-walls-when-they/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“I don’t know how I feel about a canon anymore ... The sheer volume of books that exist out there means that a canon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/i-don-t-know-how-i-feel-about-a-canon-anymore-the-sheer-volume-of/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [ “\[...\] the kind of healer who knows that sometimes one must inflict terrible agony - rebreak a bone, carve off a limb, kill the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/the-kind-of-healer-who-knows-that-sometimes-one-must-inflict-terrible/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [So here is why I write what I do: We all have futures. We all have pasts. We all have stories. And we all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/so-here-is-why-i-write-what-i-do-we-all-have-futures-we-all-have/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“How can we prepare for the future if we won’t acknowledge the past?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/how-can-we-prepare-for-the-future-if-we-won-t-acknowledge-the-past/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“You waver, because you don’t really want to know … but you haven’t been a coward for some years now. So you steel yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/you-waver-because-you-don-t-really-want-to-know-but-you-haven-t-been/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“What can orogeny do against something like that? Keep her breathing, maybe. But breathing doesn't always mean living, and maybe... maybe genocide doesn't always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/what-can-orogeny-do-against-something-like-that-keep-her-breathing/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“What the rust do you matter? Who cares about you? Well, that’s the thing, isn’t it? Once, you did have people who cared about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/what-the-rust-do-you-matter-who-cares-about-you-well-that-s-the-thing/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“Let me say only that these vehicles float a few inches off the ground. No animals draw them. No steam or chemical fuels them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/let-me-say-only-that-these-vehicles-float-a-few-inches-off-the-ground/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [We can never be gods, after all--but we can become something less than human with frightening ease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/we-can-never-be-gods-after-all-but-we-can-become-something-less-than/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“(This is not a digression.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/this-is-not-a-digression/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“He's not a parasite if she needs him, too, and if she gives what he will not take. (One day soon, she will learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/he-s-not-a-parasite-if-she-needs-him-too-and-if-she-gives-what-he/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) [Explore all 225 N.K. Jemisin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) ## More Black people 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/) > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [We have to build our own power. 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/) > [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/) > [Black Privilege is a concrete motive that black people benefit from, such as racism but racism on whites. Black people don't know it but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/black-privilege-is-a-concrete-motive-that-black-people-benefit-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Acknowledging that my skin was, in fact, Cocoa as it is, would have destroyed their narrative about who I really was. Therefore they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitta-xinindlu/acknowledging-that-my-skin-was-in-fact-cocoa-as-it-is-would-have/) [Mitta Xinindlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitta-xinindlu/) > [Well of course there's been a great deal of progress over the last 40 years. We don't have laws that segregate black people within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-davis/well-of-course-there-s-been-a-great-deal-of-progress-over-the-last-40/) [Angela Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-davis/) > [Adam Clayton Powell's entire political career has to be looked at in the entire context of the American history and the history of, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/adam-clayton-powell-s-entire-political-career-has-to-be-looked-at-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [What would America be like if we loved black people as much as we loved black culture?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amandla-stenberg/what-would-america-be-like-if-we-loved-black-people-as-much-as-we/) [Amandla Stenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amandla-stenberg/) > [“Any ministry to black people which is not designed to effect their empowerment is designed to perpetuate their enslavement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/any-ministry-to-black-people-which-is-not-designed-to-effect-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All black people who are even minimally conscious, black people who have ever experienced Europe's technological power crusading in the vanguard of a civilizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-nkosi/all-black-people-who-are-even-minimally-conscious-black-people-who/) [Lewis Nkosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-nkosi/) > [Even during my youth, I can recall very few black people living on any kind of public assistance. People were working, doing some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-smith/even-during-my-youth-i-can-recall-very-few-black-people-living-on-any/) [Ed Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-smith/) > [There is no one American beauty or just one beautiful color in the pantheon, especially in regards to black people - there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/latanya-richardson/there-is-no-one-american-beauty-or-just-one-beautiful-color-in-the/) [LaTanya Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/latanya-richardson/) > [Saying women aren't funny is now like saying Asians can't drive or saying black people have bad credit. It's just really, like, so obsolete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-cummings/saying-women-aren-t-funny-is-now-like-saying-asians-can-t-drive-or/) [Whitney Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-cummings/) > [It's so Canada. On some level, you laugh, but on another level, it's just depressing. We pride ourselves: We're not like the bad old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-backhouse/it-s-so-canada-on-some-level-you-laugh-but-on-another-level-it-s-just/) [Constance Backhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-backhouse/) [Browse all 1,587 Black people quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Man, people don' need no monster to make 'em do evil-hearted shit. All it take is a brown face, or somebody wearin' old tore-up clothes.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "N.K. Jemisin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/man-people-don-need-no-monster-to-make-em-do-evil-hearted-shit-all-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Black people" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/man-people-don-need-no-monster-to-make-em-do-evil-hearted-shit-all-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8d/n-k-jemisin-1466_black-people_man-people-don-need-no-monster-to-make-e_1916803.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8d/n-k-jemisin-1466_black-people_man-people-don-need-no-monster-to-make-e_1916803.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8d/n-k-jemisin-1466_black-people_man-people-don-need-no-monster-to-make-e_1916803.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Man, people don' need no monster to make 'em do evil-hearted shit. All it take is a brown face, or somebody…” — N.K. Jemisin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "N.K. Jemisin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Man, people don' need no monster...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/man-people-don-need-no-monster-to-make-em-do-evil-hearted-shit-all-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/man-people-don-need-no-monster-to-make-em-do-evil-hearted-shit-all-it/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```