--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We know that there are people in our…" description: "\"We know that there are people in our nation, black people, who are systematically being disenfranchised in a number of spheres in our lives.\" — Opal To..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/opal-tometi-9098_being_we-know-that-there-are-people-in-our-nat_386828.jpg" --- # We know that there are people in our nation, black people… ![“We know that there are people in our nation, black people, who are systematically being disenfranchised in a number of spheres in our lives.” quote by Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/opal-tometi-9098_being_we-know-that-there-are-people-in-our-nat_386828.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/opal-tometi-9098_being_we-know-that-there-are-people-in-our-nat_386828.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b1/opal-tometi-9098_being_we-know-that-there-are-people-in-our-nat_386828.jpg) > “We know that there are people in our nation, black people, who are systematically being disenfranchised in a number of spheres in our lives.” [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. The statement highlights that Black people in the nation face systematic disenfranchisement across multiple areas of life. **In simple terms:** Black people are unfairly excluded in many parts of society. Key Takeaway Address and dismantle systemic barriers. Themes justice equity systemic racism civil rights policy reform Mood serious urgent determined Type activist political call to action When to use this quote - voting rights - education - employment - housing - healthcare Key Concepts disenfranchisement structural inequality racial justice Questions to Reflect On - What policies perpetuate disenfranchisement? - How can individuals support systemic change? A Different Perspective Complex issues require multifaceted solutions beyond awareness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-people/) [Disenfranchised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disenfranchised/) [Disenfranchised Number](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disenfranchised-number-3498215/) [Nation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nation/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Systematically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-systematically-3498214/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Systematically Disenfranchised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/systematically-disenfranchised-3498213/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [Many thought that the abolition of slavery, the end of Jim Crow, and the legislative progress of the Civil Rights Era, among other watershed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/many-thought-that-the-abolition-of-slavery-the-end-of-jim-crow-and/) [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/) > [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/) > [“How could sixty-two million people vote for someone they heard on tape bragging about repeated sexual assault? How could he attack women, immigrants, Muslims,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-rodham-clinton/how-could-sixty-two-million-people-vote-for-someone-they-heard-on/) [Hillary Rodham Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-rodham-clinton/) > [I think a lot of people have become quite disenfranchised with action films, especially when they hide the choreography with quick cuts and close-ups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gareth-evans/i-think-a-lot-of-people-have-become-quite-disenfranchised-with-action/) [Gareth Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gareth-evans/) > [People who are disenfranchised politically and people who are poor often don't vote. 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Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-hamel/the-real-damper-on-employee-engagement-is-the-soggy-cold-blanket-of/) [Gary Hamel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-hamel/) > [Perhaps some day men will raise a tablet reading in letters of gold: 'All honor to women, the first disenfranchised class in history who,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriot-eaton-stanton-blatch/perhaps-some-day-men-will-raise-a-tablet-reading-in-letters-of-gold/) [Harriot Eaton Stanton Blatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriot-eaton-stanton-blatch/) > [People can talk about punk all they want, but after new wave put that down, metal is the voice of the disenfranchised and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/people-can-talk-about-punk-all-they-want-but-after-new-wave-put-that/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [Banning the burkini doesn't produce terrorists. But it does make the people who are already alienated, who are already disenfranchised, I many cases, economically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leiter/banning-the-burkini-doesn-t-produce-terrorists-but-it-does-make-the/) [Michael Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leiter/) > [If you double count some votes, that makes other votes disenfranchised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ensign/if-you-double-count-some-votes-that-makes-other-votes-disenfranchised/) [John Ensign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ensign/) ## 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/) > [Get involved in your neighborhood. That's how I got really, really committed to the immigrant rights movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/get-involved-in-your-neighborhood-that-s-how-i-got-really-really/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) [Explore all 75 Opal Tometi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) ## More Being quotes > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [I love being in Malibu. It's so cool there, and the water is just, it's nice and, and I love the beach. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-evancho/i-love-being-in-malibu-it-s-so-cool-there-and-the-water-is-just-it-s/) [Jackie Evancho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-evancho/) > [I talk to my mates about our kids, being too tired and being worn out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-willoughby/i-talk-to-my-mates-about-our-kids-being-too-tired-and-being-worn-out/) [Holly Willoughby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-willoughby/) > [I love to fish. I love the peacefulness of being around the water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evonne-goolagong-cawley/i-love-to-fish-i-love-the-peacefulness-of-being-around-the-water/) [Evonne Goolagong Cawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evonne-goolagong-cawley/) > [When you're in your twenties and starting out, the problem is that you care about being cool. Being older, I can care less about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-righton/when-you-re-in-your-twenties-and-starting-out-the-problem-is-that-you/) [James Righton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-righton/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? 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