--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was a time when my uncle was in an…" description: "\"There was a time when my uncle was in an immigration detention center, and members of our community would take turns visiting him each weekend. That in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/opal-tometi-9098_community_there-was-a-time-when-my-uncle-was-in-an_1086761.jpg" --- # There was a time when my uncle was in an immigration… ![“There was a time when my uncle was in an immigration detention center, and members of our community would take turns visiting him each weekend. That instilled in me the value of taking care of each other even if the systems aren't working in your favor.” quote by Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/opal-tometi-9098_community_there-was-a-time-when-my-uncle-was-in-an_1086761.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/opal-tometi-9098_community_there-was-a-time-when-my-uncle-was-in-an_1086761.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/opal-tometi-9098_community_there-was-a-time-when-my-uncle-was-in-an_1086761.jpg) > “There was a time when my uncle was in an immigration detention center, and members of our community would take turns visiting him each weekend. That instilled in me the value of taking care of each other even if the systems aren't working in your favor.” [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeing community support amid systemic failure teaches that mutual aid sustains us when institutions fail. **In simple terms:** People help each other when systems fail. Key Takeaway Practice mutual aid. Themes community solidarity justice resilience Mood determined empathetic Type inspirational reflective When to use this quote - immigration advocacy - neighborhood watch - support groups - crisis response Key Concepts mutual aid systems critique collective responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can you build mutual aid in your own network? - What limits does community support face? A Different Perspective Relying solely on institutions can be risky. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Immigration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigration/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Value](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value/) [Weekend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weekend/) ## Related quotes > [In my own personal experience, I've had different family members who have been held in immigration detention because they've had some sort of challenge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/in-my-own-personal-experience-i-ve-had-different-family-members-who/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [It's no secret that COVID-19 has impacted immigration detention centers at an alarming rate. We must establish accountability and transparency in reporting data to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-padilla/it-s-no-secret-that-covid-19-has-impacted-immigration-detention/) [Alex Padilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-padilla/) > [ The U.N. \[the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention\] has looked into this whole situation. They spent eighteen months in formal, adversarial litigation.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/the-u-n-the-united-nations-working-group-on-arbitrary-detention-has/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Arresting and detaining these dangerous people can make sense, at least until a final decision is reached on their deportation. However, such detention must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-schily/arresting-and-detaining-these-dangerous-people-can-make-sense-at/) [Otto Schily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-schily/) > [ One of the saddest and most damaging legacies of the \[George W.\] Bush administration is the increased assertion of the "state secrets" privilege, which… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/one-of-the-saddest-and-most-damaging-legacies-of-the-george-w-bush/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [“Tell her I got detention for defending her honour," Alec shouted in the distance. "Did he really?" "Well, he got detention, but mostly for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-white/tell-her-i-got-detention-for-defending-her-honour-alec-shouted-in-the/) [Cecily White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-white/) > [Detention without trial is history in Malaysia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/najib-razak/detention-without-trial-is-history-in-malaysia/) [Najib Razak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/najib-razak/) > [Yesterday I, along with a bipartisan Congressional Delegation of lawmakers, inspected the detention facilities at Guantanamo used to house individuals detained in the War…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-ryun/yesterday-i-along-with-a-bipartisan-congressional-delegation-of/) [Jim Ryun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-ryun/) > [I used to trip over my legs and get detention for my too-short shorts because none fit. I still trip, but now I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-grace/i-used-to-trip-over-my-legs-and-get-detention-for-my-too-short-shorts/) [Maggie Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-grace/) > [“Detention, Saturday night, my office,” said Snape. “I do not take cheek from anyone, Potter . . . not even ‘the Chosen One.’ ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/detention-saturday-night-my-office-said-snape-i-do-not-take-cheek/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [Gang members aren't frightened into acceptable behavior by increased penalties, enhanced punishments, and the promise of new detention facilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-boyle/gang-members-aren-t-frightened-into-acceptable-behavior-by-increased/) [Greg Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-boyle/) > [“You're my friend, Dani. that's what we do. 'sides how can i love you forever if you're always stuck in detention alone?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-fristoe/you-re-my-friend-dani-that-s-what-we-do-sides-how-can-i-love-you/) Angela Fristoe > [I went to live with my grandparents when my parents threw me out. Then I went to prison at the age of 17, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bez/i-went-to-live-with-my-grandparents-when-my-parents-threw-me-out-then/) [Bez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bez/) > [Contrary to what certain governments say, human rights are universal. Arbitrary detention, torture and discrimination hurt the human dignity of anybody, whatever his or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirin-ebadi/contrary-to-what-certain-governments-say-human-rights-are-universal/) [Shirin Ebadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirin-ebadi/) > [Police in China can do whatever they want; after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don't have to obey their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/police-in-china-can-do-whatever-they-want-after-81-days-in-arbitrary/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) ## More by Opal Tometi > [There are always groups on campus that are doing amazing things. I know when I was in college, I was a student at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/there-are-always-groups-on-campus-that-are-doing-amazing-things-i/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Let's demonstrate, illustrate, the ways in which our communities are being undermined time and time again, and make sure that the broader public and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/let-s-demonstrate-illustrate-the-ways-in-which-our-communities-are/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Being in the immigrant rights space, I've heard a lot of transactional talk with questions like, 'When will black people show up for immigrants?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/being-in-the-immigrant-rights-space-i-ve-heard-a-lot-of-transactional/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Our communities are reeling from poverty, from unemployment, from discrimination of all sorts and different interactions that they're having with the law enforcement, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/our-communities-are-reeling-from-poverty-from-unemployment-from/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Antiblack racism is not only happening in the United States. It's actually happening all across the globe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/antiblack-racism-is-not-only-happening-in-the-united-states-it-s/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [I'm really looking for an agenda that looks at safety for our communities beyond policing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/i-m-really-looking-for-an-agenda-that-looks-at-safety-for-our/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [I just look back at my time in college and think about how much my community activism and my work in neighborhoods really informed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/i-just-look-back-at-my-time-in-college-and-think-about-how-much-my/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Trump's racism has clearly driven his policy decisions during his first year in office - from his Muslim ban and his despicable treatment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/trump-s-racism-has-clearly-driven-his-policy-decisions-during-his/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [I have two younger brothers, and I know my parents have spoken to them about driving and interacting with police. They didn't have those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/i-have-two-younger-brothers-and-i-know-my-parents-have-spoken-to-them/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Lean into your curiosity about any issue, and there will likely be people to share a little bit more of their knowledge and insight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/lean-into-your-curiosity-about-any-issue-and-there-will-likely-be/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [We can't continue to sit on our hands and sit idly by as people are being brutalized, disenfranchised, and left out of the system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/we-can-t-continue-to-sit-on-our-hands-and-sit-idly-by-as-people-are/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Far from ending, systemic racism reinvents itself to conform to what is publically acceptable, leaving the quality of black life diminished and more permanently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/far-from-ending-systemic-racism-reinvents-itself-to-conform-to-what/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Some of us have held the hands of friends or brothers as they struggled with military and police academy recruiters, and though many of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/some-of-us-have-held-the-hands-of-friends-or-brothers-as-they/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Only when the oppressed are heard can we have an honest solutions based dialogue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/only-when-the-oppressed-are-heard-can-we-have-an-honest-solutions/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [We know that there are people in our nation, black people, who are systematically being disenfranchised in a number of spheres in our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/we-know-that-there-are-people-in-our-nation-black-people-who-are/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) [Explore all 75 Opal Tometi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) ## More Community quotes > [Race is the idea that a human being is more superior than another human being, race in society grants illusional rights to mistreat each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/race-is-the-idea-that-a-human-being-is-more-superior-than-another/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [The strains and stresses suffered by the individual in society are grounded in the normal functioning of that society (and of the individual!) rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/the-strains-and-stresses-suffered-by-the-individual-in-society-are/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [Hackney gets a bit of a bad rap, but it's the only place I've ever lived that felt like a community. I know my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-horgan/hackney-gets-a-bit-of-a-bad-rap-but-it-s-the-only-place-i-ve-ever/) [Sharon Horgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-horgan/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [It rolls off my back. Ridicule doesn't mean anything - even from people you're supposed to wear knee pads around, like the scientific community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-schultz/it-rolls-off-my-back-ridicule-doesn-t-mean-anything-even-from-people/) [Dwight Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-schultz/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Human life consists of doing certain things ... to take part in the life of the community; to be able to talk about subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/human-life-consists-of-doing-certain-things-to-take-part-in-the-life/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [Parents who are stressed or disturbed will have more difficulty in meeting their children's needs. Parents who have little support--from friends, relatives, neighbors, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/parents-who-are-stressed-or-disturbed-will-have-more-difficulty-in/) Sheila Kamerman > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [Perhaps the greatest and least visible form of impoverishment caused by the Corporate State is the destruction of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/perhaps-the-greatest-and-least-visible-form-of-impoverishment-caused/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) [Browse all 13,840 Community quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There was a time when my uncle was in an immigration detention center, and members of our community would take turns visiting him each weekend. 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