--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Problem with segregation isn't that…" description: "\"Problem with segregation isn't that people can't live in peaceful harmony singing \"Kumbaya\" - although that wouldn't be bad. The problem is that many o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5e/richard-benjamin-28723_community_problem-with-segregation-isn-t-that-peop_1942975.jpg" --- # Problem with segregation isn't that people can't live in… ![“Problem with segregation isn't that people can't live in peaceful harmony singing "Kumbaya" - although that wouldn't be bad. The problem is that many of these Whitopian communities are taking state, local, and federal resources with them.” quote by Richard Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5e/richard-benjamin-28723_community_problem-with-segregation-isn-t-that-peop_1942975.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5e/richard-benjamin-28723_community_problem-with-segregation-isn-t-that-peop_1942975.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5e/richard-benjamin-28723_community_problem-with-segregation-isn-t-that-peop_1942975.jpg) > “Problem with segregation isn't that people can't live in peaceful harmony singing "Kumbaya" - although that wouldn't be bad. The problem is that many of these Whitopian communities are taking state, local, and federal resources with them.” [Richard Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-benjamin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The issue is that utopian groups draw public resources without contributing, undermining fairness and sustainability. **In simple terms:** Utopian groups drain public resources. Key Takeaway Address resource allocation fairness. Themes fairness resource allocation community public policy Mood critical analytical Type policy social commentary When to use this quote - government budgeting - nonprofit funding - urban planning - social welfare - public services Key Concepts public finance collective responsibility social equity Questions to Reflect On - How can resources be allocated to support both innovation and equity? - What criteria should determine public funding eligibility? A Different Perspective Utopian communities may also provide valuable social benefits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Harmony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmony/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Peaceful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peaceful/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Segregation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/segregation/) [Singing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/singing/) ## Related quotes > [“...the great tragedy of segregation isn't so much that we see less of each other but that in separating from each other we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/the-great-tragedy-of-segregation-isn-t-so-much-that-we-see-less-of/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [The interesting thing about Georgia is, Atlanta is teeming with middle-class black people and black people with money - and yet there is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-benjamin/the-interesting-thing-about-georgia-is-atlanta-is-teeming-with-middle/) [Richard Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-benjamin/) > [I concede that segregation can allay social tensions immediately, but it further debilitates us in the long run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-benjamin/i-concede-that-segregation-can-allay-social-tensions-immediately-but/) [Richard Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-benjamin/) > [In Florida, then, and for farm workers for the most part in the US, there's a real sense of economic segregation. In the South,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjay-rawal/in-florida-then-and-for-farm-workers-for-the-most-part-in-the-us/) [Sanjay Rawal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjay-rawal/) > [“What neither Warren nor most of the rest of us recognized was that segregation was not, as Nirej Sekhorn put it, simply a "taint"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-bell/what-neither-warren-nor-most-of-the-rest-of-us-recognized-was-that/) [Derrick Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-bell/) > [South Africa is labouring to find its revolutionary path; the colours of the Rainbow Nation have difficulty blending together; the wealthy elites (white, black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/south-africa-is-labouring-to-find-its-revolutionary-path-the-colours/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [In America, you can segregate the people, but the problems will travel. From slavery to equal rights, from state suppression of dissent to crime,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-jordan/in-america-you-can-segregate-the-people-but-the-problems-will-travel/) [June Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-jordan/) > [That white uniform was her 'pass' to get into white places with us - the grocery store, the state fair, the movies. Even though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-stockett/that-white-uniform-was-her-pass-to-get-into-white-places-with-us-the/) [Kathryn Stockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-stockett/) > [Mindset changes are not happening from change in legislation. Like desegregation. We legally got rid of legal segregation, but schools are still segregated. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-meier/mindset-changes-are-not-happening-from-change-in-legislation-like/) [Deborah Meier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-meier/) > [It happens a lot every four years, or it used to, every time the Paralympics comes around. They'll be like: 'We've had this idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-mccausland/it-happens-a-lot-every-four-years-or-it-used-to-every-time-the/) [Chris McCausland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-mccausland/) > [I truly believe that one of the things that has been lacking in America is a spirit of repentance about the injustices of slavery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/i-truly-believe-that-one-of-the-things-that-has-been-lacking-in/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [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/) > [I decided to lock myself in. A forced segregation. Sabbatical. A retreat into myself. My selves. Play hide and go seek in the looking-glass.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/i-decided-to-lock-myself-in-a-forced-segregation-sabbatical-a-retreat/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [I never knew about racial segregation until Martin Luther King.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bradley/i-never-knew-about-racial-segregation-until-martin-luther-king/) [Charles Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bradley/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) ## More by Richard Benjamin > [With growing and intermixed minority populations, our democracy can not work optimally unless all people are integrated as full and equal members, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-benjamin/with-growing-and-intermixed-minority-populations-our-democracy-can/) [Richard Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-benjamin/) > [If I were an immigrant Latino not born in the US, I could not have written Searching for Whitopia: An Improbably Journey to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-benjamin/if-i-were-an-immigrant-latino-not-born-in-the-us-i-could-not-have/) [Richard Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-benjamin/) > [The reason our country looks the way it does is through social engineering that distinctly benefits suburban communities, exurban communities, and often white residents.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-benjamin/the-reason-our-country-looks-the-way-it-does-is-through-social/) [Richard Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-benjamin/) > [I was surprised by how forces in the community could mobilize against a community changing. 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That tipping point is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-benjamin/when-well-qualified-upper-middle-class-blacks-or-latinos-or-asians/) [Richard Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-benjamin/) > [I always say that you should remake flops, not hits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-benjamin/i-always-say-that-you-should-remake-flops-not-hits/) [Richard Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-benjamin/) > [In the pioneer West Whitopias, immigration tended to be the dominant social and racial issue. In Forsyth County, Georgia, immigration is still an issue,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-benjamin/in-the-pioneer-west-whitopias-immigration-tended-to-be-the-dominant/) [Richard Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-benjamin/) > [People would say, "You know, Rich, it's nature. Birds of a feather flock together." I have to point out to them that, no, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-benjamin/people-would-say-you-know-rich-it-s-nature-birds-of-a-feather-flock/) [Richard Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-benjamin/) > [I don't want to live in a monoculture of any kind. I don't want to live in a wealthy monoculture, a black monoculture. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-benjamin/i-don-t-want-to-live-in-a-monoculture-of-any-kind-i-don-t-want-to/) [Richard Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-benjamin/) > [Louisville, Colorado, which was just voted by CNN and Money magazine as the best place to live, is a veritable Whitopia that is unaffected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-benjamin/louisville-colorado-which-was-just-voted-by-cnn-and-money-magazine-as/) [Richard Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-benjamin/) > [I had been hearing on-the-ground buzz that white folks were moving to places like Bend, Oregon, and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and St. George, Utah.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-benjamin/i-had-been-hearing-on-the-ground-buzz-that-white-folks-were-moving-to/) [Richard Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-benjamin/) > [Of course, there isn't really a black population in Idaho or Utah.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-benjamin/of-course-there-isn-t-really-a-black-population-in-idaho-or-utah/) [Richard Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-benjamin/) > [There is tremendous long-term harm when Americans accept ethnic and class balkanization as a de facto fixture of American life. I think that impoverishes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-benjamin/there-is-tremendous-long-term-harm-when-americans-accept-ethnic-and/) [Richard Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-benjamin/) > [By 2042, whites will no longer be the American majority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-benjamin/by-2042-whites-will-no-longer-be-the-american-majority/) [Richard Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-benjamin/) [Explore all 19 Richard Benjamin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-benjamin/) ## 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. 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