--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They have never believed us human, but we…" description: "\"“They have never believed us human, but we will prove by our actions today that we are more than tools. Even if we aren’t human, we are people. They wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee0/n-k-jemisin-1466_believed_they-have-never-believed-us-human-but-we_3034309.png" --- # They have never believed us human, but we will prove by… ![“They have never believed us human, but we will prove by our actions today that we are more than tools. Even if we aren’t human, we are people. They will never be able to deny us this again.” quote by N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee0/n-k-jemisin-1466_believed_they-have-never-believed-us-human-but-we_3034309.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee0/n-k-jemisin-1466_believed_they-have-never-believed-us-human-but-we_3034309.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee0/n-k-jemisin-1466_believed_they-have-never-believed-us-human-but-we_3034309.png) > ““They have never believed us human, but we will prove by our actions today that we are more than tools. Even if we aren’t human, we are people. They will never be able to deny us this again.”” [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. Even if denied humanity, people can assert their personhood through actions, refusing to be reduced to tools. **In simple terms:** Actions prove humanity. Key Takeaway Assert identity. Themes humanity agency resistance Mood defiant hopeful Type political inspirational When to use this quote - activism - civil rights movements - personal advocacy Key Concepts social justice identity politics Questions to Reflect On - How can actions reshape perception? - What tools are used to dehumanize? A Different Perspective May underestimate systemic barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aren Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aren-human-2318336/) [Believed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed/) [Believed Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed-human-2109164/) [Human People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-people-525149/) [Human Prove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-prove-4971610/) ## Related quotes > [I've always believed human blood is red because it really needs to draw attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-cornwell/i-ve-always-believed-human-blood-is-red-because-it-really-needs-to/) [Patricia Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-cornwell/) > [“...he believed in God and he believed that when the human is still, the Divine speaks to it, because it is its own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/he-believed-in-god-and-he-believed-that-when-the-human-is-still-the/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [“ I would not have believed it, either. No human has ever come back from being made Pri-ya, and, although I am pleased that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/i-would-not-have-believed-it-either-no-human-has-ever-come-back-from/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Each of us has a door to walk through, maybe a thousand, and if we don’t walk through them, we aren’t alive. We aren’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-g-redling/each-of-us-has-a-door-to-walk-through-maybe-a-thousand-and-if-we-don/) [S.G. Redling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-g-redling/) > [We're all human, aren't we? Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-re-all-human-aren-t-we-every-human-life-is-worth-the-same-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No, I was just wondering who you killed to reclaim your health. (Wulf) I’m sure the cows you eat aren’t exactly thrilled by their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/no-i-was-just-wondering-who-you-killed-to-reclaim-your-health-wulf-i/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Aren't we all human? Don't we all deserve to be respected and treated equally?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-stuart/aren-t-we-all-human-don-t-we-all-deserve-to-be-respected-and-treated/) [Madeline Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-stuart/) > [We've been expected to be perfect but we aren't. We're still human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariah-carey/we-ve-been-expected-to-be-perfect-but-we-aren-t-we-re-still-human/) [Mariah Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariah-carey/) > [We aren't, as human beings, very good at acting in our best interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/we-aren-t-as-human-beings-very-good-at-acting-in-our-best-interest/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [Being jealous of a persons looks or status is only human.But , you have crossed the line once you treat them like they aren't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-henry/being-jealous-of-a-persons-looks-or-status-is-only-human-but-you-have/) [Ty Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-henry/) > [“Being a role model does not mean that you aren’t human, and you will make mistakes. You”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-raybans/being-a-role-model-does-not-mean-that-you-aren-t-human-and-you-will/) [Hannah Raybans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-raybans/) > [I try to be good to myself. Look, we're human and people have differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-ventimiglia/i-try-to-be-good-to-myself-look-we-re-human-and-people-have/) [Milo Ventimiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-ventimiglia/) > [I think some fans are very passionate, they just say what they want to say but they just need to slow it down a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jadon-sancho/i-think-some-fans-are-very-passionate-they-just-say-what-they-want-to/) [Jadon Sancho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jadon-sancho/) > [ ... one of the immutable laws of being human is that the people who show up are the right people. \[p. 65\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/one-of-the-immutable-laws-of-being-human-is-that-the-people-who-show/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I'm human here, people. I'm not the Dalai Lama. But I'm trying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumer-willis/i-m-human-here-people-i-m-not-the-dalai-lama-but-i-m-trying/) [Rumer Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumer-willis/) ## 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 Believed quotes > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Though my grandmother had picked up modern ideas in America, she still had some conflicting 19th-century Irish notions. She believed that daughters, educated though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-mahoney/though-my-grandmother-had-picked-up-modern-ideas-in-america-she-still/) [Rosemary Mahoney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-mahoney/) > [“I didn't know if I believed in 'happily ever after' anymore. 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He was one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-milano/aaron-spelling-always-had-his-finger-on-the-pulse-of-pop-culture-he/) [Alyssa Milano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-milano/) > [I never believed that they was such thing as love at first sight but I think I'm having that feeliing @sarahlovemoody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mishack/i-never-believed-that-they-was-such-thing-as-love-at-first-sight-but/) [Mishack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mishack/) > [“I wish I believed him. He's looking at me like he can see where I begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-mcnamara/i-wish-i-believed-him-he-s-looking-at-me-like-he-can-see-where-i-begin/) [Amy McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-mcnamara/) > [My life had been defined by the apartheid years. Now we were going into an era of democracy... and I believed that I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athol-fugard/my-life-had-been-defined-by-the-apartheid-years-now-we-were-going/) [Athol Fugard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athol-fugard/) > [On March 12, 2004, acting attorney general James B. Comey and the Justice Department's top leadership reached the brink of resignation over electronic surveillance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/on-march-12-2004-acting-attorney-general-james-b-comey-and-the/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/no-statement-should-be-believed-because-it-is-made-by-an-authority/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [I never believed I'd have a six-pack, especially not at 35 years old. I always thought it was a genetic blessing. It's not. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sullivan-stapleton/i-never-believed-i-d-have-a-six-pack-especially-not-at-35-years-old-i/) [Sullivan Stapleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sullivan-stapleton/) > [“For a moment, I believed you.” He ordered me, dryly, recovering his usual poise again. He does not only have a selective hearing, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tionne-rogers/for-a-moment-i-believed-you-he-ordered-me-dryly-recovering-his-usual/) [Tionne Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tionne-rogers/) > [There was a time when idealistic folksingers such as myself believed that Reality TV was a programming vogue that would peak and recede, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/there-was-a-time-when-idealistic-folksingers-such-as-myself-believed/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [I felt uneasy, but sometimes, like I said before, I believed in Col. North and there was a very solid and very valid reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fawn-hall/i-felt-uneasy-but-sometimes-like-i-said-before-i-believed-in-col/) [Fawn Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fawn-hall/) > [And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salmon-p-chase/and-upon-this-act-sincerely-believed-to-be-an-act-of-justice/) [Salmon P. Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salmon-p-chase/) [Browse all 1,214 Believed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They have never believed us human, but we will prove by our actions today that we are more than tools. Even if we aren’t human, we are people. They will never be able to deny us this again.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "N.K. 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