--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It has come as a great revelation to me,”…" description: "\"“It has come as a great revelation to me,” I wrote her, “that abolition is different from the desire for racial equality. Color prejudice is at the bot..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/sue-monk-kidd-404_abolition_it-has-come-as-a-great-revelation-to-me_1259959.jpg" --- # It has come as a great revelation to me,” I wrote her… ![“It has come as a great revelation to me,” I wrote her, “that abolition is different from the desire for racial equality. Color prejudice is at the bottom of everything. If it’s not fixed, the plight of the Negro will continue long after abolition.” quote by Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/sue-monk-kidd-404_abolition_it-has-come-as-a-great-revelation-to-me_1259959.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/sue-monk-kidd-404_abolition_it-has-come-as-a-great-revelation-to-me_1259959.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/sue-monk-kidd-404_abolition_it-has-come-as-a-great-revelation-to-me_1259959.jpg) > ““It has come as a great revelation to me,” I wrote her, “that abolition is different from the desire for racial equality. Color prejudice is at the bottom of everything. If it’s not fixed, the plight of the Negro will continue long after abolition.”” [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Abolition alone does not ensure racial equality; deep-seated color prejudice must be addressed, otherwise oppression continues even after legal freedom. **In simple terms:** Ending slavery isn’t enough; racism must be eliminated too. Key Takeaway Confront and dismantle color prejudice. Themes justice racism equality freedom Mood urgent thought‑provoking Type analytical activist When to use this quote - policy reform - education programs - community dialogues - activism - legal changes Key Concepts social theory structural racism civil rights Questions to Reflect On - What steps can truly eradicate prejudice? - How can societies heal after abolition? A Different Perspective Changing laws without changing hearts may not end systemic bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abolition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition/) [Racial equality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racial-equality/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [“It has come as a great revelation to me that abolitionist is different from the desire for racial equality. Color prejudice is at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/it-has-come-as-a-great-revelation-to-me-that-abolitionist-is/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Color prejudice is at the bottom of everything. If it’s not fixed, the plight of the Negro will continue long after abolition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/color-prejudice-is-at-the-bottom-of-everything-if-it-s-not-fixed-the/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“(The essence of the irony of the plight of the Negro in America, to me, is that he is doomed to live in isolation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/the-essence-of-the-irony-of-the-plight-of-the-negro-in-america-to-me/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [“Again, we may decry the color-prejudice of the South, yet it remains a heavy fact. Such curious kinks of the human mind exist and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/again-we-may-decry-the-color-prejudice-of-the-south-yet-it-remains-a/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“It is not enough for the Negroes to declare that color-prejudice is the sole cause of their social condition, nor for the white South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/it-is-not-enough-for-the-negroes-to-declare-that-color-prejudice-is/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [Color prejudice and religion are akin in one respect. Some folks have it and some don't, and the kernel that is responsible for it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-thurman/color-prejudice-and-religion-are-akin-in-one-respect-some-folks-have/) [Wallace Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-thurman/) > [I can't explain exactly why it lives within me for so long and passionately. But race matters to me; racial equality matters to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-can-t-explain-exactly-why-it-lives-within-me-for-so-long-and/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Angelina, I think of you as my friend, the dearest of friends, and it tortures me to go against you, but now is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/angelina-i-think-of-you-as-my-friend-the-dearest-of-friends-and-it/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [Gender and race got very entwined in the 19th century, as abolition broke out, and then women wanted the right to speak about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/gender-and-race-got-very-entwined-in-the-19th-century-as-abolition/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [Along with racial equality and the late bloom of women's rights, future generations will have to explain how, in the past, gays were misunderstood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/io-tillett-wright/along-with-racial-equality-and-the-late-bloom-of-women-s-rights/) [iO Tillett Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/io-tillett-wright/) > [You can't expect to go about change - especially change of this nature, when you talk about racial equality and justice - you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-jenkins/you-can-t-expect-to-go-about-change-especially-change-of-this-nature/) [Malcolm Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-jenkins/) > [“When you truly believe that the racial groups are equal, then you also believe that racial disparities must be the result of racial discrimination.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/when-you-truly-believe-that-the-racial-groups-are-equal-then-you-also/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“Shadows of Hope In the quiet neighborhood of Saint-Michel, nestled within the vibrant city of Montreal, lived Maria, a single mother of two. Maria…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michella-augusta/shadows-of-hope-in-the-quiet-neighborhood-of-saint-michel-nestled/) [Michella Augusta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michella-augusta/) > [If I can mean to people - if I can symbolize the ability to pursue gender equality, racial equality, and to be truthful about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-hill/if-i-can-mean-to-people-if-i-can-symbolize-the-ability-to-pursue/) [Anita Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-hill/) > [“The House adjourned without voting on the bill, but the following year a similar bill—mandating equality in hotels and restaurants open to the public,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands-2/the-house-adjourned-without-voting-on-the-bill-but-the-following-year/) [H.W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands-2/) ## More by Sue Monk Kidd > [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“It's part of our overall Body Negation Program.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/it-s-part-of-our-overall-body-negation-program/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“That was the thing mauma and I loved, our time with the quilts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/that-was-the-thing-mauma-and-i-loved-our-time-with-the-quilts/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“The mermaids came to me finally, in the pink hours of my life. They are my consolation. For them I dove with arms outstretched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-mermaids-came-to-me-finally-in-the-pink-hours-of-my-life-they-are/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“The bag contained a pair of white cotton gloves stained the color of age.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-bag-contained-a-pair-of-white-cotton-gloves-stained-the-color-of/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [I eventually found that the soul is more than an immortal commodity to win and save. It is the repository of the inner divine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-eventually-found-that-the-soul-is-more-than-an-immortal-commodity/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Readiness for dying arrives by attending the smallest moment and finding the eternal inside of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/readiness-for-dying-arrives-by-attending-the-smallest-moment-and/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“I sat at her desk and turned one page after another, staring at what looked like bits and pieces of black lace laid cross…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-sat-at-her-desk-and-turned-one-page-after-another-staring-at-what/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [The translucence that comes when life hardens into a bead of such cruel perfection you see it with the purest clarity. Everything suddenly there--life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-translucence-that-comes-when-life-hardens-into-a-bead-of-such/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“There's no pain on earth that doesn't require a benevolent witness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/there-s-no-pain-on-earth-that-doesn-t-require-a-benevolent-witness/) [sue monk kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“afflicted with the worst female curse on earth, the need to mold myself to expectations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/afflicted-with-the-worst-female-curse-on-earth-the-need-to-mold/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Her forbidden bath all those months ago still hung leaden between us, though Handful didn't seem the least bit ashamed by my discovery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/her-forbidden-bath-all-those-months-ago-still-hung-leaden-between-us/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Why should God’s perfection be based on having an unchanging nature?” I asked. “Isn’t flexibility more perfect than stasis?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/why-should-god-s-perfection-be-based-on-having-an-unchanging-nature-i/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) [Explore all 584 Sue Monk Kidd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## More Abolition quotes > [Unpleasant questions are being raised about Mother's Day. Is this day necessary? . . . Isn't it bad public policy? . . . No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/unpleasant-questions-are-being-raised-about-mother-s-day-is-this-day/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Anarchism is a definite intellectual current in the life of our times, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/anarchism-is-a-definite-intellectual-current-in-the-life-of-our-times/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [Anarchism as a political philosophy seeks to dissolve all forms of authority and power, and if possible, wishes their complete abolition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/anarchism-as-a-political-philosophy-seeks-to-dissolve-all-forms-of/) [Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/) > [“I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lloyd-garrison/i-am-aware-that-many-object-to-the-severity-of-my-language-but-is/) [William Lloyd Garrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lloyd-garrison/) > [It seems like cloud cuckoo land. If anyone is suggesting that I would go to Parliament and suggest the abolition of the Pound Sterling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/it-seems-like-cloud-cuckoo-land-if-anyone-is-suggesting-that-i-would/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [We invite people working for peace to span generations and national boundaries, and gather together to communicate. Let us firmly join hands and foster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iccho-itoh/we-invite-people-working-for-peace-to-span-generations-and-national/) [Iccho Itoh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iccho-itoh/) > [Insofar as we may at all claim that slavery has been abolished today, we owe its abolition to the practical consequences of science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/insofar-as-we-may-at-all-claim-that-slavery-has-been-abolished-today/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [ You have not been mistaken in supposing my views and feeling to be in favor of the abolition of war. Of my dispos\[i\]tion to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/you-have-not-been-mistaken-in-supposing-my-views-and-feeling-to-be-in/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [On this International Day for the Abolition of Slavery let us reaffirm the inherent dignity of all men, women and children. And let us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/on-this-international-day-for-the-abolition-of-slavery-let-us/) [Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/) > [Capitalism as a social order and as a creed is the expression of the belief in economic progress as leading toward the freedom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/capitalism-as-a-social-order-and-as-a-creed-is-the-expression-of-the/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [“What is, so to speak, the object of abolition? Not so much the abolition of prisons but the abolition of a society that could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-moten-and-stefano-harney/what-is-so-to-speak-the-object-of-abolition-not-so-much-the-abolition/) Fred Moten and Stefano Harney > [I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do, to see a plan adopted for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/i-can-only-say-that-there-is-not-a-man-living-who-wishes-more/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [As a long-termist, I acknowledge there are more pressing causes than the abolition of private property.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sarkar/as-a-long-termist-i-acknowledge-there-are-more-pressing-causes-than/) [Ash Sarkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sarkar/) > [Colonization was the idea that once slavery ended African-Americans should be encouraged - or required, in some people's view - required to leave the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/colonization-was-the-idea-that-once-slavery-ended-african-americans/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [I am for socialism, disarmament, and, ultimately, for abolishing the state itself... 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