--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You have been having our rights so long…" description: "\"You have been having our rights so long, that you think, like a slave-holder, that you own us. I know that it is hard for one who has held the reins fo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/sojourner-truth-10213_cutting_you-have-been-having-our-rights-so-long_2902977.jpg" --- # You have been having our rights so long, that you think… ![“You have been having our rights so long, that you think, like a slave-holder, that you own us. I know that it is hard for one who has held the reins for so long to give up; it cuts like a knife. It will feel all the better when it closes up again.” quote by Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/sojourner-truth-10213_cutting_you-have-been-having-our-rights-so-long_2902977.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/sojourner-truth-10213_cutting_you-have-been-having-our-rights-so-long_2902977.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/sojourner-truth-10213_cutting_you-have-been-having-our-rights-so-long_2902977.jpg) > “You have been having our rights so long, that you think, like a slave-holder, that you own us. I know that it is hard for one who has held the reins for so long to give up; it cuts like a knife. It will feel all the better when it closes up again.” [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She critiques entrenched power, urging those accustomed to dominance to relinquish control, acknowledging the pain of loss but promising eventual relief. **In simple terms:** Powerful people must let go of control, though it hurts. Key Takeaway Release control for greater justice. Themes power justice freedom change empathy Mood defiant hopeful Type political social When to use this quote - political leadership - organizational restructuring - personal relationships - activism Key Concepts colonialism authority social hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - How can leaders ease the transition of power? - What personal costs arise when giving up control? A Different Perspective Resistance may be fierce and cause backlash. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Having Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-rights-595158/) [Held Reins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/held-reins-2184249/) [Knives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knives/) [Like Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-slave-608253/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Reins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reins/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Rights Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights-long-2091815/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Slave Holder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave-holder-3891883/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Women were the ones that held the reins, it emerged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/women-were-the-ones-that-held-the-reins-it-emerged/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [“Jimmy held on to the reins for dear life, and thought that a horse was about the most slippery creature to sit on that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enid-blyton/jimmy-held-on-to-the-reins-for-dear-life-and-thought-that-a-horse-was/) [Enid Blyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enid-blyton/) > [When and under what conditions is the black man to have a free ballot? When is he in fact to have those full civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/when-and-under-what-conditions-is-the-black-man-to-have-a-free-ballot/) [Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) > [There is a broad movement that has been holding companies accountable on human rights for a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/there-is-a-broad-movement-that-has-been-holding-companies-accountable/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [A slave-holder cannot hold a slave without putting himself or his deputy in the cage for holding the slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/a-slave-holder-cannot-hold-a-slave-without-putting-himself-or-his/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [A slave- holder, who has decided to abolish slavery, does not consult his slaves whether they desire freedom or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/a-slave-holder-who-has-decided-to-abolish-slavery-does-not-consult/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Mammon is the largest slave-holder in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-frederick-saunders/mammon-is-the-largest-slave-holder-in-the-world/) [Arthur Frederick Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-frederick-saunders/) > [The duties are even more important than the rights; and in the long run I think that the reward is ampler and greater for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-duties-are-even-more-important-than-the-rights-and-in-the-long/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Old ideas die hard. We've had thousands of years of women having almost no rights. Parts of the world are in a struggle toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathe-kollwitz/old-ideas-die-hard-we-ve-had-thousands-of-years-of-women-having/) [Kathe Kollwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathe-kollwitz/) > [Community living is about having the same rights and choices as everyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-ne-eman/community-living-is-about-having-the-same-rights-and-choices-as/) [Ari Ne'eman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-ne-eman/) > [I don't see a direct conflict between the rights of individuals and the rights of communities, because I don't perceive of communities as having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/i-don-t-see-a-direct-conflict-between-the-rights-of-individuals-and/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [“After all, people seemed quite easy about having their rights and liberties taken away by those they looked up to, but somehow a space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/after-all-people-seemed-quite-easy-about-having-their-rights-and/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I can assure you that gay people getting married will have zero effect on your life. They won't come into your house and steal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kluwe/i-can-assure-you-that-gay-people-getting-married-will-have-zero/) [Chris Kluwe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kluwe/) > [One of the grandest things in having rights is, that though they are your rights you may give them up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/one-of-the-grandest-things-in-having-rights-is-that-though-they-are/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [We have to remember that the United States has certain principles, certain values that bind us all together, that make us all American. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/we-have-to-remember-that-the-united-states-has-certain-principles/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) ## More by Sojourner Truth > [Truth is powerful and it prevails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/truth-is-powerful-and-it-prevails/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [Because of them I can now live the dream. I am the seed of the free, and I know it. I intend to bear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/because-of-them-i-can-now-live-the-dream-i-am-the-seed-of-the-free/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/that-man-over-there-says-that-women-need-to-be-helped-into-carriages/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [I feel safe even in the midst of my enemies; for the truth is powerful and will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/i-feel-safe-even-in-the-midst-of-my-enemies-for-the-truth-is-powerful/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [Let ... individuals make the most of what God has given them, have their neighbors do the same, and then do all they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/let-individuals-make-the-most-of-what-god-has-given-them-have-their/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [God is the great house that holds all his children; we dwell in Him as the fishes dwell in the seas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/god-is-the-great-house-that-holds-all-his-children-we-dwell-in-him-as/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [I feel safe in the midst of my enemies, for the truth is all powerful and will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/i-feel-safe-in-the-midst-of-my-enemies-for-the-truth-is-all-powerful/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [When I got religion, I found some work to do to benefit somebody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/when-i-got-religion-i-found-some-work-to-do-to-benefit-somebody/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [I am for keeping the thing going while things are stirring. Because if we wait till it is still, it will take a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/i-am-for-keeping-the-thing-going-while-things-are-stirring-because-if/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [The rich rob the poor and the poor rob one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/the-rich-rob-the-poor-and-the-poor-rob-one-another/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [“You may hiss as much as you please, but women will get their rights anyway”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/you-may-hiss-as-much-as-you-please-but-women-will-get-their-rights/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [Then I will speak upon the ashes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/then-i-will-speak-upon-the-ashes/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [I am free when I allow my life to unfold. As soon as I restrict myself to new outcomes, I've got shackles on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/i-am-free-when-i-allow-my-life-to-unfold-as-soon-as-i-restrict-myself/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [Christ came from God and a woman. Man had nothing to do with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/christ-came-from-god-and-a-woman-man-had-nothing-to-do-with-him/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [I did not run away, I walked away by daylight….](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/i-did-not-run-away-i-walked-away-by-daylight/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) [Explore all 67 Sojourner Truth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) ## More Cutting quotes > [“I locked the door and turned on the water to fill the tub. I made it so hot that I had to get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-crandall/i-locked-the-door-and-turned-on-the-water-to-fill-the-tub-i-made-it/) [Susan Crandall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-crandall/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Since I worked with Danny Boyle before on Slumdog Millionaire, we have great success and everything. So, when I first got the script and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/since-i-worked-with-danny-boyle-before-on-slumdog-millionaire-we-have/) [A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/) > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I didn't understand Southland Tales script at all! Is there a single word to describe it? Cacophony? It's celebrity meets pornography meets politics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-grant/i-didn-t-understand-southland-tales-script-at-all-is-there-a-single/) [Beth Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-grant/) > [Confidence comes from cutting yourself some slack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-daly/confidence-comes-from-cutting-yourself-some-slack/) [Tess Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-daly/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [The child who ran weeping to you with a cut finger is now brought home, smiling gamely, with a broken collarbone and incredible contusions-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/the-child-who-ran-weeping-to-you-with-a-cut-finger-is-now-brought/) [Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [God holds each of us by a string. When we sin, we cut the string. But God ties it up again, making a knot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/god-holds-each-of-us-by-a-string-when-we-sin-we-cut-the-string-but/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [What's the difference between obsolete and cutting edge? Obsolete works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/what-s-the-difference-between-obsolete-and-cutting-edge-obsolete-works/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) [Browse all 6,010 Cutting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You have been having our rights so long, that you think, like a slave-holder, that you own us. I know that it is hard for one who has held the reins for so long to give up; it cuts like a knife. It will feel all the better when it closes up again.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sojourner Truth" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/you-have-been-having-our-rights-so-long-that-you-think-like-a-slave/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cutting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/you-have-been-having-our-rights-so-long-that-you-think-like-a-slave/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/sojourner-truth-10213_cutting_you-have-been-having-our-rights-so-long_2902977.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/sojourner-truth-10213_cutting_you-have-been-having-our-rights-so-long_2902977.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/699/sojourner-truth-10213_cutting_you-have-been-having-our-rights-so-long_2902977.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You have been having our rights so long, that you think, like a slave-holder, that you own us. I know that…” — Sojourner Truth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sojourner Truth", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You have been having our rights...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/you-have-been-having-our-rights-so-long-that-you-think-like-a-slave/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/you-have-been-having-our-rights-so-long-that-you-think-like-a-slave/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```