--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know personally that being a…" description: "\"I know personally that being a conservative minority is a test of character. Identity, after all, is an integral and cherished part of the self.\" — She..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/shelby-steele-3370_being_i-know-personally-that-being-a-conservat_1809577.png" --- # I know personally that being a conservative minority is a… ![“I know personally that being a conservative minority is a test of character. Identity, after all, is an integral and cherished part of the self.” quote by Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/shelby-steele-3370_being_i-know-personally-that-being-a-conservat_1809577.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/shelby-steele-3370_being_i-know-personally-that-being-a-conservat_1809577.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/shelby-steele-3370_being_i-know-personally-that-being-a-conservat_1809577.png) > “I know personally that being a conservative minority is a test of character. Identity, after all, is an integral and cherished part of the self.” [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being a conservative minority tests personal character, as identity is a core, cherished part of oneself. **In simple terms:** Identity shapes character, especially for minorities. Key Takeaway Embrace identity while navigating minority status. Themes identity minority experience character development Mood thoughtful serious Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - political activism - personal development - community building Key Concepts conservatism psychology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does identity influence political views? - What strategies help maintain integrity under pressure? A Different Perspective Minority status can lead to social pressure and isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Test of character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/test-of-character/) ## Related quotes > [The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-test-of-courage-comes-when-we-are-in-the-minority-the-test-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fear brings out the best in some people and the worst in others. It's a test of character, for individuals and nations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ignatius/fear-brings-out-the-best-in-some-people-and-the-worst-in-others-it-s/) [David Ignatius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ignatius/) > [There is no better test of character than when you're tossed into crisis. That's when we see one's true colors shine through. So I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/there-is-no-better-test-of-character-than-when-you-re-tossed-into/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [“The real test of character is whether you will do the right thing even when it costs more than you want to pay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-josephson/the-real-test-of-character-is-whether-you-will-do-the-right-thing/) [Michael Josephson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-josephson/) > [“Life is a test. A test of Character and Strength, experience is our study guide... so remember what you learn and more importantly-apply it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-funkhouser/life-is-a-test-a-test-of-character-and-strength-experience-is-our/) Sarah Funkhouser > [The True Test of Character Of A Person, Is Not How Much We Know How To Do, But How We Behave When We Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/the-true-test-of-character-of-a-person-is-not-how-much-we-know-how-to/) Pacifiersucker > [Friendship is held to be the severest test of character. It is easy, we think, to be loyal to a family and clan, whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-alexander-eastman/friendship-is-held-to-be-the-severest-test-of-character-it-is-easy-we-2/) [Charles Alexander Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-alexander-eastman/) > [Fame is also a test of character at times... Sometimes I pass the test; sometimes I'm a pain in the ass. Sometimes I'm like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-ryan/fame-is-also-a-test-of-character-at-times-sometimes-i-pass-the-test/) [Meg Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-ryan/) > [“I have to set an example, now more than ever. Facing death is the ultimate test of character. – Cmdr. William Riker”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/star-trek-the-next-generation/i-have-to-set-an-example-now-more-than-ever-facing-death-is-the/) [Star Trek The Next Generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/star-trek-the-next-generation/) > [Conduct is the grand test of character. Words are one great evidence of the condition of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/conduct-is-the-grand-test-of-character-words-are-one-great-evidence/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Friendship is held to be the severest test of character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/friendship-is-held-to-be-the-severest-test-of-character/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Friendship is held to be the severest test of character. It is easy, we think, to be loyal to a family and clan, whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-alexander-eastman/friendship-is-held-to-be-the-severest-test-of-character-it-is-easy-we/) [Charles Alexander Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-alexander-eastman/) > [“The subject of a piece of writing has not suffered the tension and anxiety endured by the subject of the "Eichmann experiment" (as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/the-subject-of-a-piece-of-writing-has-not-suffered-the-tension-and/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [What is the true test of character unless it be its progressive development in the bustle and turmoil, in the action and reaction of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/what-is-the-true-test-of-character-unless-it-be-its-progressive/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The test of character is not persistence when you expect a light at the end of the tunnel. The true test is performance and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur-ray/the-test-of-character-is-not-persistence-when-you-expect-a-light-at/) [James Arthur Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur-ray/) ## More by Shelby Steele > [When blacks become humanly visible, when their true beliefs are known, their mask shatters and their symbiotic bond with whites is broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/when-blacks-become-humanly-visible-when-their-true-beliefs-are-known/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [I alienated myself from the academic world almost entirely because it's a left-wing world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/i-alienated-myself-from-the-academic-world-almost-entirely-because-it/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Freedom is just freedom. It is a condition, not an agent of change. It does not develop or uplift those who win it. Freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/freedom-is-just-freedom-it-is-a-condition-not-an-agent-of-change-it/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [In Vietnam, America fought one whose communism was driven by an underlying nationalism, the desire to live free of the West. Whatever one may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/in-vietnam-america-fought-one-whose-communism-was-driven-by-an/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Our great presidents have been stewards, men who broadly identified with the whole of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/our-great-presidents-have-been-stewards-men-who-broadly-identified/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [No doubt Israel and America have made mistakes in the Middle East. Certainly, Israel was born at the price of considerable dislocation and suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/no-doubt-israel-and-america-have-made-mistakes-in-the-middle-east/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [And if you want to make many of our black leaders angry, just tell them that racism is not the number problem that black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/and-if-you-want-to-make-many-of-our-black-leaders-angry-just-tell/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Thomas Sowell, among many others, has articulated the power of individual responsibility as an antidote to black poverty for over 40 years. Black thinkers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/thomas-sowell-among-many-others-has-articulated-the-power-of/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton cannot write a timeless letter to us from a Birmingham jail or walk, as John Lewis did in 1965,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/jesse-jackson-and-al-sharpton-cannot-write-a-timeless-letter-to-us/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [My father bought three ramshackle houses, rebuilt them, rented them out, kept clawing his way up the ladder. A man with a third grade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/my-father-bought-three-ramshackle-houses-rebuilt-them-rented-them-out/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Whatever I'm doing, I try to write well. I try to give the reader a nice, clean well-written surface, where the writing is transparent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/whatever-i-m-doing-i-try-to-write-well-i-try-to-give-the-reader-a/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [We have laws on the books. If somebody's discriminating against you, I strongly advocate suing them. That's the most effective thing you can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/we-have-laws-on-the-books-if-somebody-s-discriminating-against-you-i/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [The first thing I ever heard about Barack Obama was that he had a white mother and a black father. Interestingly, the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/the-first-thing-i-ever-heard-about-barack-obama-was-that-he-had-a/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Racism is endemic to the human condition, just as stupidity is. We will always have to be on guard against it. But now it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/racism-is-endemic-to-the-human-condition-just-as-stupidity-is-we-will/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Without an ugly America to loathe, there is no automatic esteem to receive. Thus liberalism's unrelenting current of anti-Americanism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/without-an-ugly-america-to-loathe-there-is-no-automatic-esteem-to/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) [Explore all 132 Shelby Steele quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) ## 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? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [Being a new mother is a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaedra-parks/being-a-new-mother-is-a-blessing/) [Phaedra Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phaedra-parks/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. 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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/) > [We should not live in fear, we should all enjoy being able to express our views freely and openly, challenge each other on issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tan-cheng-bock/we-should-not-live-in-fear-we-should-all-enjoy-being-able-to-express/) [Tan Cheng Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tan-cheng-bock/) [Browse all 18,139 Being quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I know personally that being a conservative minority is a test of character. 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