--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I maintain that every civil rights bill…" description: "\"I maintain that every civil rights bill in this country was passed for white people, not for black people.\" — Stokely Carmichael" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/stokely-carmichael-14332_bills_i-maintain-that-every-civil-rights-bill_661890.jpg" --- # I maintain that every civil rights bill in this country… ![“I maintain that every civil rights bill in this country was passed for white people, not for black people.” quote by Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/stokely-carmichael-14332_bills_i-maintain-that-every-civil-rights-bill_661890.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/stokely-carmichael-14332_bills_i-maintain-that-every-civil-rights-bill_661890.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/stokely-carmichael-14332_bills_i-maintain-that-every-civil-rights-bill_661890.jpg) > “I maintain that every civil rights bill in this country was passed for white people, not for black people.” [Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A critique that civil rights legislation primarily benefits the dominant group. **In simple terms:** Laws may favor those in power. Key Takeaway Examine who truly benefits from policy. Themes justice inequality politics Mood critical urgent Type activist political When to use this quote - legislative reform - community organizing - voting rights advocacy Key Concepts structural racism policy analysis Questions to Reflect On - Who benefits from current civil rights laws? - How can marginalized voices shape legislation? A Different Perspective Policies can be co-opted, limiting impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-people/) [Civil Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-right/) [Civil rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Hippie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hippie/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Revolutionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutionary/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [White people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-people/) ## Related quotes > [When I wrote the song, The Way It Is, I wanted to move people to take a stand on civil rights in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-hornsby/when-i-wrote-the-song-the-way-it-is-i-wanted-to-move-people-to-take-a/) [Bruce Hornsby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-hornsby/) > [The educational system should be a sieve, through which all the children of a country are passed. It is highly desirable that no child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-popenoe/the-educational-system-should-be-a-sieve-through-which-all-the/) Paul Popenoe > [While supporting human rights in another country is important, fighting for our own safety is crucial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grenell/while-supporting-human-rights-in-another-country-is-important/) [Richard Grenell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grenell/) > [The freedom of thought and expression is one of the most sacred rights in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-engel/the-freedom-of-thought-and-expression-is-one-of-the-most-sacred/) [Eliot Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-engel/) > [Wealthy women have rights in every country. And poor women don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/wealthy-women-have-rights-in-every-country-and-poor-women-don-t/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [The reason this system can’t be overthrown in this country,” Walter said, “is all about freedom. The reason the free market in Europe is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/the-reason-this-system-can-t-be-overthrown-in-this-country-walter/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“Americans enjoy the respect of human rights in their country so much that they do not always understand how precious these rights are and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phakyab-rinpoche/americans-enjoy-the-respect-of-human-rights-in-their-country-so-much/) Phakyab RINPOCHE > [Let us not forget that the European Community started as a project for peace after the terrible Second World War. And today people take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-manuel-barroso/let-us-not-forget-that-the-european-community-started-as-a-project/) [Jose Manuel Barroso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-manuel-barroso/) > [The amount of violations of human rights in a country is always an inverse function of the amount of complaints about human rights violations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-patrick-moynihan/the-amount-of-violations-of-human-rights-in-a-country-is-always-an/) [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-patrick-moynihan/) > [The best judge of whether or not a country is going to develop is how it treats its women. If it's educating its girls,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-best-judge-of-whether-or-not-a-country-is-going-to-develop-is-how/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [In giving rights to others which belong to them, we give rights to ourselves and to our country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-giving-rights-to-others-which-belong-to-them-we-give-rights-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm more interested in politicians who deal with human rights in their own country rather than lecture the rest of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-livingstone/i-m-more-interested-in-politicians-who-deal-with-human-rights-in/) [Ken Livingstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-livingstone/) > [I care about people's human rights and, as a country, we have a very proud record indeed. But I'm also realistic about what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-key/i-care-about-people-s-human-rights-and-as-a-country-we-have-a-very/) [John Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-key/) > [“Everybody has rights in this country,” Shehnaz said flatly. “That’s what makes it great. If we let the rights of one group erode, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eboo-patel/everybody-has-rights-in-this-country-shehnaz-said-flatly-that-s-what/) [Eboo Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eboo-patel/) > [In America, racism exists but racists are all gone. Racists belong to the past. Racists are the thin-lipped mean white people in the movies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/in-america-racism-exists-but-racists-are-all-gone-racists-belong-to/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) ## More by Stokely Carmichael > [The secret of life is to have no fear; it's the only way to function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/the-secret-of-life-is-to-have-no-fear-it-s-the-only-way-to-function/) [Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) > [Our grandfathers had to run, run, run. My generation's out of breath. We ain't running no more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/our-grandfathers-had-to-run-run-run-my-generation-s-out-of-breath-we/) [Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) > [What a liberal really wants is to bring about change that will not in any way endanger his position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/what-a-liberal-really-wants-is-to-bring-about-change-that-will-not-in/) [Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) > [Black Power can be clearly defined for those who do not attach the fears of white America to their questions about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/black-power-can-be-clearly-defined-for-those-who-do-not-attach-the/) [Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) > [Now we maintain that we cannot be afford to be concerned about 6 percent of the children in this country, black children, who you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/now-we-maintain-that-we-cannot-be-afford-to-be-concerned-about-6/) [Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) > [A man is born free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/a-man-is-born-free/) [Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) > [There is a higher law than the law of government. That's the law of conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/there-is-a-higher-law-than-the-law-of-government-that-s-the-law-of/) [Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) > [The first need of a free people is to define their own terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/the-first-need-of-a-free-people-is-to-define-their-own-terms/) [Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) > [I ain't going to jail no more. The only way we gonna stop them white men from whuppin' us is to take over. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/i-ain-t-going-to-jail-no-more-the-only-way-we-gonna-stop-them-white/) [Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) > [“The job of the conscious is to make the unconscious conscious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/the-job-of-the-conscious-is-to-make-the-unconscious-conscious/) [Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) > [“Racism is both overt and covert. It takes two, closely related forms: individual whites acting against individual blacks, and acts by the total white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/racism-is-both-overt-and-covert-it-takes-two-closely-related-forms/) [Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) > [The masses don't shed their blood for the benefit of a few individuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/the-masses-don-t-shed-their-blood-for-the-benefit-of-a-few-individuals/) [Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) > [The philosophers Camus and Sartre raise the question whether or not a man can condemn himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/the-philosophers-camus-and-sartre-raise-the-question-whether-or-not-a/) [Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) > [Integration is a man's ability to want to move in there by himself. If someone wants to live in a white neighborhood and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/integration-is-a-man-s-ability-to-want-to-move-in-there-by-himself-if/) [Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) > [No man can given anybody his freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/no-man-can-given-anybody-his-freedom/) [Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) [Explore all 47 Stokely Carmichael quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) ## More Bills quotes > [If you’re a person struggling to eat and stay healthy you might have heard about Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali, but you’ll never have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/if-you-re-a-person-struggling-to-eat-and-stay-healthy-you-might-have/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Some of the folks on both sides might be sincere, but it does seem as if it is only the opposition that cares about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bovard/some-of-the-folks-on-both-sides-might-be-sincere-but-it-does-seem-as/) [James Bovard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bovard/) > [ \[Sport officials\] blocked their support of us. But those individuals \[ Muhammad Ali, the Jim Browns, the Bill Russells, Kareem Abdul Jabbar \] were… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carlos/sport-officials-blocked-their-support-of-us-but-those-individuals/) [John Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carlos/) > [Simple fairness dictates that government must not raise taxes on families struggling to pay their bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/simple-fairness-dictates-that-government-must-not-raise-taxes-on/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-fare-that-s-darned-good-advice/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [ I will not agree to have this bill \[to repeal DADT \] go forward, because our economy is in the tank. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/i-will-not-agree-to-have-this-bill-to-repeal-dadt-go-forward-because/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [This is not really currency that circulates. It's like the old joke about expensive vintage wine. Wine prices will go up and once in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/this-is-not-really-currency-that-circulates-it-s-like-the-old-joke/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [If Bill Gates left Microsoft we wouldn't allow Donald Trump to run it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-i-am/if-bill-gates-left-microsoft-we-wouldn-t-allow-donald-trump-to-run-it/) [will.i.am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-i-am/) > [Your goal should be to pay off your credit card bills in full at the end of each month and set aside money toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/your-goal-should-be-to-pay-off-your-credit-card-bills-in-full-at-the/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) > [He's fat and a clown, Bill, a fat clown for all to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eamon-dunphy/he-s-fat-and-a-clown-bill-a-fat-clown-for-all-to-see/) [Eamon Dunphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eamon-dunphy/) > [There's nothing nice about Steve Jobs and there's nothing evil about Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-peddle/there-s-nothing-nice-about-steve-jobs-and-there-s-nothing-evil-about/) Chuck Peddle > [At first I thought, if I were Superman, a perfect secret identity would be "Clark Kent, Dentist," because you could save money on tooth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/at-first-i-thought-if-i-were-superman-a-perfect-secret-identity-would/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [Whether it's people walking off 'The View' when Bill O'Reilly makes a statement about radical Islam or Juan Williams being fired for expressing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-cantor/whether-it-s-people-walking-off-the-view-when-bill-o-reilly-makes-a/) [Eric Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-cantor/) > [The one thing the police cannot protect us from is a politician like Bill de Blasio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/the-one-thing-the-police-cannot-protect-us-from-is-a-politician-like/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [Bill Hicks - blowtorch, excavator, truthsayer, and brain specialist. He will correct your vision. Others will drive on the road he built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/bill-hicks-blowtorch-excavator-truthsayer-and-brain-specialist-he/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) Browse all 2,663 Bills quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I maintain that every civil rights bill in this country was passed for white people, not for black people.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stokely Carmichael" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/i-maintain-that-every-civil-rights-bill-in-this-country-was-passed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bills" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/i-maintain-that-every-civil-rights-bill-in-this-country-was-passed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/stokely-carmichael-14332_bills_i-maintain-that-every-civil-rights-bill_661890.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/stokely-carmichael-14332_bills_i-maintain-that-every-civil-rights-bill_661890.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/776/stokely-carmichael-14332_bills_i-maintain-that-every-civil-rights-bill_661890.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I maintain that every civil rights bill in this country was passed for white people, not for black people.” — Stokely Carmichael", "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": "Stokely Carmichael", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I maintain that every civil rights...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/i-maintain-that-every-civil-rights-bill-in-this-country-was-passed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/i-maintain-that-every-civil-rights-bill-in-this-country-was-passed/#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 } } ] } ```