--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What worries me is that 'post-racial'…" description: "\"What worries me is that 'post-racial' America is not that different from the Americas that have preceded us, and it might not ever be.\" — Roxane Gay" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/roxane-gay-520_america_what-worries-me-is-that-post-racial-amer_1539687.png" --- # What worries me is that 'post-racial' America is not that… ![“What worries me is that 'post-racial' America is not that different from the Americas that have preceded us, and it might not ever be.” quote by Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/roxane-gay-520_america_what-worries-me-is-that-post-racial-amer_1539687.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/roxane-gay-520_america_what-worries-me-is-that-post-racial-amer_1539687.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/roxane-gay-520_america_what-worries-me-is-that-post-racial-amer_1539687.png) > “What worries me is that 'post-racial' America is not that different from the Americas that have preceded us, and it might not ever be.” [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author warns that claims of a “post‑racial” society ignore ongoing systemic inequities, suggesting true change requires acknowledging and confronting history. **In simple terms:** America still has racial problems despite claims otherwise. Key Takeaway Recognize and address hidden racism. Themes social justice race history inequality Mood critical concerned Type analytical provocative When to use this quote - policy reform - education - community dialogue - media analysis Key Concepts critical race theory systemic bias social critique Questions to Reflect On - What evidence shows persistent racial disparity? - How can individuals challenge the “post‑racial” myth? A Different Perspective Optimism about progress may ignore entrenched power structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-different-392647/) [Americas Preceded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americas-preceded-5732005/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different Americas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-americas-5732006/) [Ever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ever/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Post Racial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/post-racial-640422/) [Racial America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racial-america-640423/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) [Worries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worries/) ## Related quotes > [Welcome to post-racial America. I'm the face of post-racial America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/welcome-to-post-racial-america-i-m-the-face-of-post-racial-america/) [Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/) > [When Obama came to power, there was a lot of talk about a post-racial America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-koenig/when-obama-came-to-power-there-was-a-lot-of-talk-about-a-post-racial/) [Ezra Koenig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-koenig/) > [I am concerned that there are some feelings in some quarters in some corners that, what do people of color want now? We elected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lewis/i-am-concerned-that-there-are-some-feelings-in-some-quarters-in-some/) [John Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lewis/) > [This whole notion of a post racial America was nonsense from the very beginning. It was a bad idea, a bad notion, a bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavis-smiley/this-whole-notion-of-a-post-racial-america-was-nonsense-from-the-very/) [Tavis Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavis-smiley/) > [I'm the face of post racial America, deal with it Cate Blanchett.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/i-m-the-face-of-post-racial-america-deal-with-it-cate-blanchett/) [Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/) > [America is racial. America was founded on race. Race is America. The code name for America is 'race.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mooney/america-is-racial-america-was-founded-on-race-race-is-america-the/) [Paul Mooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mooney/) > [“Despite the strides America has made in the civil rights movement, eradicating Jim Crow laws, teaching tolerance, and electing an African-American president, racial inequality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-bloom/despite-the-strides-america-has-made-in-the-civil-rights-movement/) [Lisa Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-bloom/) > [America is a different country, and it will forever be a different country after the election of Donald Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/america-is-a-different-country-and-it-will-forever-be-a-different/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) > [Unique among the nations, America recognized the source of our character as being godly and eternal, not being civic and temporal. And because we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashcroft/unique-among-the-nations-america-recognized-the-source-of-our/) [John Ashcroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashcroft/) > [One of the main reasons that the landscape of financial stuff in America is different is that gambling is illegal there. So there's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/one-of-the-main-reasons-that-the-landscape-of-financial-stuff-in/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [Anyone who watches a lot of television, or listens to pop music, is familiar with a certain vision of America. If not exactly colorblind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/anyone-who-watches-a-lot-of-television-or-listens-to-pop-music-is/) [Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/) > [America was founded by religious people; devout people who came here because they wanted freedom of religion, It's what made America different from every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/america-was-founded-by-religious-people-devout-people-who-came-here/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [If a new president personalizes a rather different concept of America and a different sense of America's mission in the world than has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/if-a-new-president-personalizes-a-rather-different-concept-of-america/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [“When the American Spirit was in its youth, the language of America was different; Liberty, sir, was then the primary object.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-henry/when-the-american-spirit-was-in-its-youth-the-language-of-america-was/) [Patrick Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-henry/) > [The spirit of the West, of America, is different than the East. The cultural conditioning is very different. It seems to be harder for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-spirit-of-the-west-of-america-is-different-than-the-east-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More by Roxane Gay > [“Human endurance fascinates me, probably too much because more often than not, I think of life in terms of enduring instead of living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/human-endurance-fascinates-me-probably-too-much-because-more-often/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Being useful was a balm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/being-useful-was-a-balm/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [No woman or man is any one thing and the men in my stories, well, some of them are good and some of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/no-woman-or-man-is-any-one-thing-and-the-men-in-my-stories-well-some/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I was a daydreamer and I resented being pulled out of my daydreams to deal with the business of living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-was-a-daydreamer-and-i-resented-being-pulled-out-of-my-daydreams-to/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Feminism is, I hope, a way to a better future for everyone who inhabits this world. Feminism should not be something that needs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/feminism-is-i-hope-a-way-to-a-better-future-for-everyone-who-inhabits/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Fiction offers escape but it also interrogates the world we live in, whether the past, present or future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/fiction-offers-escape-but-it-also-interrogates-the-world-we-live-in/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I've noticed while cooking, how ingredients in their individual and naked state and be a bit repulsive but necessary, kind of like people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-ve-noticed-while-cooking-how-ingredients-in-their-individual-and/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I shouted, “This is not right,” knowing my words were useless. There’s no room for such distinctions in a country where too many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-shouted-this-is-not-right-knowing-my-words-were-useless-there-s-no/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Most of my favorite tweets go completely ignored but most of my favorite tweets are probably really lame or inside jokes between me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/most-of-my-favorite-tweets-go-completely-ignored-but-most-of-my/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“What about other women of color? For Hispanic and Latina women, Indian women, Middle Eastern women, Asian women, their absence in popular culture is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/what-about-other-women-of-color-for-hispanic-and-latina-women-indian/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [There has been, and there will continue to be, vigorous discussions about race in America. I worry that little will come of these discussions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/there-has-been-and-there-will-continue-to-be-vigorous-discussions/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Writing, at its best and truest, can offer solace and salvation for both readers and writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/writing-at-its-best-and-truest-can-offer-solace-and-salvation-for/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I knew I was in love with The Hunger Games when I did not want to get off the treadmill”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-knew-i-was-in-love-with-the-hunger-games-when-i-did-not-want-to-get/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Just because you survive something does not mean you are strong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/just-because-you-survive-something-does-not-mean-you-are-strong/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Celebrities understand the economy of thinness, and most of them are willing to participate in that economy, taking to social media, where they pose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/celebrities-understand-the-economy-of-thinness-and-most-of-them-are/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) [Explore all 503 Roxane Gay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. 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