--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For that particular community, for my…" description: "\"“For that particular community, for my community, the message has long been clear: The Civil War is a story for white people—acted out by white people,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/ta-nehisi-coates-733_civil-war_for-that-particular-community-for-my-com_554094.png" --- # For that particular community, for my community, the… ![“For that particular community, for my community, the message has long been clear: The Civil War is a story for white people—acted out by white people, on white people’s terms—in which blacks feature strictly as stock characters and props. We are invited to listen, but never to truly join the…” quote by Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/ta-nehisi-coates-733_civil-war_for-that-particular-community-for-my-com_554094.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/ta-nehisi-coates-733_civil-war_for-that-particular-community-for-my-com_554094.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/ta-nehisi-coates-733_civil-war_for-that-particular-community-for-my-com_554094.png) > ““For that particular community, for my community, the message has long been clear: The Civil War is a story for white people—acted out by white people, on white people’s terms—in which blacks feature strictly as stock characters and props. We are invited to listen, but never to truly join the narrative, for to speak as the slave would, to say that we are as happy for the Civil War as most Americans are for the Revolutionary War, is to rupture the narrative. Having been tendered such a conditional invitation, we have elected—as most sane people would—to decline.”” [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques how the Civil War narrative centers white perspectives, marginalizing Black voices and reducing them to background roles. **In simple terms:** White‑centered history silences Black experiences. Key Takeaway Recognize and include Black perspectives in historical narratives. Themes history race representation voice power narrative Mood reflective critical somber Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - education curricula - public commemorations - media productions - community dialogues Key Concepts critical race theory historical memory social exclusion media framing Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions reshape historical narratives to be inclusive? - What barriers exist to integrating Black perspectives? A Different Perspective The narrative can be broadened but may face resistance from entrenched cultural myths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civil war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-war/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Revolutionary war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutionary-war/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [White people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-people/) ## Related quotes > [ \[John Brown's\] zeal in the cause of freedom was infinitely superior to mine. Mine was as the taper light, his was as the burning… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/john-brown-s-zeal-in-the-cause-of-freedom-was-infinitely-superior-to/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I was always told that I acted too white. I was always told that I was going to date a white guy - which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-williams/i-was-always-told-that-i-acted-too-white-i-was-always-told-that-i-was/) [Jessica Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-williams/) > [“CLYTEMNESTRA What ails thee, raising this ado for us? SLAVE I say the dead are come to slay the living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/clytemnestra-what-ails-thee-raising-this-ado-for-us-slave-i-say-the/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [“Don’t,’ he said, ‘talk about it like—’ ‘Like?’ ‘Like it was cold-blooded; like I controlled it. Like we didn’t both close our eyes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-pacat/don-t-he-said-talk-about-it-like-like-like-it-was-cold-blooded-like-i/) [C.S. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-pacat/) > [“We make her paint her face and dance If she won't be a slave, we say that she don't love us If she's real,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/we-make-her-paint-her-face-and-dance-if-she-won-t-be-a-slave-we-say/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [“I was a coward and a slave. I say this without the slightest embarrassment. Every decent man of our age must be a coward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/i-was-a-coward-and-a-slave-i-say-this-without-the-slightest/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [Many, many people of the Revolutionary generation, the generation that fought in the Revolutionary War, understood that slavery was somehow in contradiction to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/many-many-people-of-the-revolutionary-generation-the-generation-that/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“There was a loud shuffling above. A line of redcoats took their position at the edge of the ravine and aimed down at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/there-was-a-loud-shuffling-above-a-line-of-redcoats-took-their/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [“Cry your grief to God. Howl to the heavens. Tear your shirt. Your hair. Your flesh. Gouge your eyes. Carve out your heart. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-donnelly/cry-your-grief-to-god-howl-to-the-heavens-tear-your-shirt-your-hair/) [Jennifer Donnelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-donnelly/) > [“At the top of the Palisades in Weehawken, New Jersey is a small park known as the Dueling Grounds. This Revolutionary War site, overlooking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/at-the-top-of-the-palisades-in-weehawken-new-jersey-is-a-small-park/) Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One > [“Arnold went into treason as into a business, surveying the ground and estimating the possible profits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-doren-carl-c/arnold-went-into-treason-as-into-a-business-surveying-the-ground-and/) Van Doren Carl C > [But what do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American war? The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/but-what-do-we-mean-by-the-american-revolution-do-we-mean-the/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [Revisiting the Revolutionary War is a bracing reminder that the fate of a continent, and the shape of the modern world, turned on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/revisiting-the-revolutionary-war-is-a-bracing-reminder-that-the-fate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Writing for a newspaper is like running a revolutionary war. You go to battle not when you are ready, but when action offers itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/writing-for-a-newspaper-is-like-running-a-revolutionary-war-you-go-to/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [The shot heard round the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-shot-heard-round-the-world/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by Ta-Nehisi Coates > [“To Trump whiteness is neither notional nor symbolic but is the very core of his power. In this, Trump is not singular. But whereas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/to-trump-whiteness-is-neither-notional-nor-symbolic-but-is-the-very/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“The focus on one sector of Trump voters—the white working class—is puzzling, given the breadth of his white coalition. Indeed, there is a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-focus-on-one-sector-of-trump-voters-the-white-working-class-is/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [The greatest reward of this constant interrogation, confrontation with the brutality of my country, is that it has freed me from hosts and myths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-greatest-reward-of-this-constant-interrogation-confrontation-with/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [What I am telling you is that you do not need to know to love, and it is right that you feel it all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/what-i-am-telling-you-is-that-you-do-not-need-to-know-to-love-and-it/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [I think 'Dear White People,' the show, is a tremendous artistic achievement. It's always hinting that there is something beyond the pleading and wokeness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/i-think-dear-white-people-the-show-is-a-tremendous-artistic/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [ \[Winning the White House was an achievement\], but as an African-American, \[Barack Obama\], I think the symbolism is in how he conducted himself. The… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/winning-the-white-house-was-an-achievement-but-as-an-african-american/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [What sets black people apart is not some deficit in personal responsibility. It's the weight on our shoulders. That is what's actually different. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/what-sets-black-people-apart-is-not-some-deficit-in-personal/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [Like a lot of people, I'm very, very concerned about Senator Clinton's record. I'm very, very concerned about where her positions were in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/like-a-lot-of-people-i-m-very-very-concerned-about-senator-clinton-s/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“I drove away, as always, thinking of you. I do not believe that we can stop them, Samori, because they must ultimately stop themselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/i-drove-away-as-always-thinking-of-you-i-do-not-believe-that-we-can/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [What I’m talking about is more than recompense for past injustices—more than a handout, a payoff, hush money, or a reluctant bribe. What I’m…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/what-i-m-talking-about-is-more-than-recompense-for-past-injustices/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [The mainstream sort of presentation of the civil rights movement was not something that I directly inherited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-mainstream-sort-of-presentation-of-the-civil-rights-movement-was/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [ \[Grew up in Hawaii\] that gave \[Barack Obama\] a kind of optimism, an ability to see things, you know, and frankly, an ability to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/grew-up-in-hawaii-that-gave-barack-obama-a-kind-of-optimism-an/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“I sensed the schools were hiding something, drugging us with false morality so that we would not see, so that we did not ask:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/i-sensed-the-schools-were-hiding-something-drugging-us-with-false/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [You don't make a case for reparations thinking, 'Oh yeah, people are gonna love this.' I didn't see that coming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/you-don-t-make-a-case-for-reparations-thinking-oh-yeah-people-are/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“And I know that there are black boys and black girls out there lost in a Bermuda triangle of the mind or stranded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/and-i-know-that-there-are-black-boys-and-black-girls-out-there-lost/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) [Explore all 388 Ta-Nehisi Coates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) ## More Civil war quotes > [“Time overlaps itself. A breath breathed from a passing breeze is not the whole wind, neither is it just the last of what has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/time-overlaps-itself-a-breath-breathed-from-a-passing-breeze-is-not/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [“Whatever happened in those more than one hundred years, from the time my great-great-great grandfather studied law to the time when my own father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwenn-wright/whatever-happened-in-those-more-than-one-hundred-years-from-the-time/) [Gwenn Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwenn-wright/) > [“AUSTRALIA, LIKE THE UNITED STATES, experienced a different path to inclusive institutions than the one taken by England. The same revolutions that shook England…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daron-acemo-lu/australia-like-the-united-states-experienced-a-different-path-to/) [Daron Acemoğlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daron-acemo-lu/) > [“These are all good things, I said. But no one knows where your country is or who you are. You don't have a familiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/these-are-all-good-things-i-said-but-no-one-knows-where-your-country/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [“Thinking about the weather was one way of shutting out of his mind the appalling bloody human mess sprawled out over the bed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ellis/thinking-about-the-weather-was-one-way-of-shutting-out-of-his-mind/) [Mark Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ellis/) > [It cost about 75 cents to kill a man in Ceasar's time. The price rose to about $3,000 per man during the Napoleonic wars;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-bone/it-cost-about-75-cents-to-kill-a-man-in-ceasar-s-time-the-price-rose/) Homer Bone > [Alabama soldiers, all I ask of you is to keep up with the Texans!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/alabama-soldiers-all-i-ask-of-you-is-to-keep-up-with-the-texans/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [“ “In the South, football is confused with religion, chivalry, the Civil War, and women.” -Diane Roberts, The Quotable South ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/in-the-south-football-is-confused-with-religion-chivalry-the-civil/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) > [“By the following morning, September 15, Jackson had positioned nearly fifty guns on Maryland Heights and at the base of Loudoun Heights.  Then he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-river-editors/by-the-following-morning-september-15-jackson-had-positioned-nearly/) [Charles River Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-river-editors/) > [Strange, (is it not?) that battles, martyrs, blood, even assassination should so condense - perhaps only really lastingly condense - a Nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/strange-is-it-not-that-battles-martyrs-blood-even-assassination/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [You must study to be frank with the world: frankness is the child of honesty and courage. Say just what you mean to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/you-must-study-to-be-frank-with-the-world-frankness-is-the-child-of/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [“Civil wars...are the best wars for the writer...because they have a way of continuing long afterwl wars between nations are resolved; because, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/civil-wars-are-the-best-wars-for-the-writer-because-they-have-a-way/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [I am out of money,we are all out of money,but we dont need money down here- Dont need anything but Men , Muskets, Ammunition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-connolly/i-am-out-of-money-we-are-all-out-of-money-but-we-dont-need-money-down/) James A. Connolly > [Affirmative action was designed to recognize the uniquely difficult journey of African-Americans. This policy was justifiable and understandable, even to those who came from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-webb/affirmative-action-was-designed-to-recognize-the-uniquely-difficult/) [Jim Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-webb/) > [“Only twenty - nine years in the entire human history had been without warfare, and now here he was too, travelling between the episodes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadeem-aslam/only-twenty-nine-years-in-the-entire-human-history-had-been-without/) [Nadeem Aslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadeem-aslam/) [Browse all 1,714 Civil war quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-war/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For that particular community, for my community, the message has long been clear: The Civil War is a story for white people—acted out by white people, on white people’s terms—in which blacks feature strictly as stock characters and props. We are invited to listen, but never to truly join the narrative, for to speak as the slave would, to say that we are as happy for the Civil War as most Americans are for the Revolutionary War, is to rupture the narrative. Having been tendered such a conditional invitation, we have elected—as most sane people would—to decline.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ta-Nehisi Coates" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/for-that-particular-community-for-my-community-the-message-has-long/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civil war" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/for-that-particular-community-for-my-community-the-message-has-long/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/ta-nehisi-coates-733_civil-war_for-that-particular-community-for-my-com_554094.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/ta-nehisi-coates-733_civil-war_for-that-particular-community-for-my-com_554094.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/ta-nehisi-coates-733_civil-war_for-that-particular-community-for-my-com_554094.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For that particular community, for my community, the message has long been clear: The Civil War is a story…” — Ta-Nehisi Coates", "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": "Ta-Nehisi Coates", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“For that particular community, for my...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/for-that-particular-community-for-my-community-the-message-has-long/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/for-that-particular-community-for-my-community-the-message-has-long/#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 } } ] } ```