--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had no expectations of white people at…" description: "\"I had no expectations of white people at all.\" — Ta-Nehisi Coates" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/ta-nehisi-coates-733_expectations_i-had-no-expectations-of-white-people-at_1287555.png" --- # I had no expectations of white people at all. ![“I had no expectations of white people at all.” quote by Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/ta-nehisi-coates-733_expectations_i-had-no-expectations-of-white-people-at_1287555.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/ta-nehisi-coates-733_expectations_i-had-no-expectations-of-white-people-at_1287555.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/ta-nehisi-coates-733_expectations_i-had-no-expectations-of-white-people-at_1287555.png) > “I had no expectations of white people at all.” [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. A personal acknowledgment that prior expectations of a group can be absent, highlighting openness to experience. **In simple terms:** No preconceived expectations about a group. Key Takeaway Stay open and judge individuals, not groups. Themes open‑mindedness racial perception personal growth Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - interpersonal relationships - diverse workplaces - social activism Key Concepts implicit bias social conditioning identity formation Questions to Reflect On - How do your expectations affect your interactions? - What experiences have reshaped your view of others? A Different Perspective Expectations can be shaped by personal interactions, not stereotypes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [White people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-people/) ## Related quotes > [When people who are not black are interested in what I do, frankly, I'm always surprised. I don't know if it's my low expectations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/when-people-who-are-not-black-are-interested-in-what-i-do-frankly-i-m/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“But what I remember most is the sense of impossibility with which Obama regarded the Trump presidency. I confess to basically feeling the same.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/but-what-i-remember-most-is-the-sense-of-impossibility-with-which/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/for-that-particular-community-for-my-community-the-message-has-long/) [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/) > [The essential relationship across American history between black people and white people is one of exploitation and one of plunder. This is not, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-essential-relationship-across-american-history-between-black/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [I don't know that white people need to be 'allies' so much as understand that any black struggle in America is ultimately a struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/i-don-t-know-that-white-people-need-to-be-allies-so-much-as/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [If you do a black character or a female character or an Asian character, then they aren't just that character. They represent that race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-mcduffie/if-you-do-a-black-character-or-a-female-character-or-an-asian/) [Dwayne McDuffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-mcduffie/) > [Audiences want great story telling; it's why white people watch my show 'Black in America.' It's why black people watch 'Latina in America.' All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soledad-o-brien/audiences-want-great-story-telling-it-s-why-white-people-watch-my/) [Soledad O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soledad-o-brien/) > [I think it's naïve to think white people aren't singing along directly!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-brennan/i-think-it-s-na-ve-to-think-white-people-aren-t-singing-along-directly/) [Neal Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-brennan/) > [...people will go for anything they don't understand if it's got enough hype. They want to be hip, want always to be in on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/people-will-go-for-anything-they-don-t-understand-if-it-s-got-enough/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [People are going to always have their opinions whether you date a black man or not. I've had girlfriends, family members comment on black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanaa-lathan/people-are-going-to-always-have-their-opinions-whether-you-date-a/) [Sanaa Lathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanaa-lathan/) > [More than half of all the hip hop record sales are white people, and I think that might be a result of my record…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanilla-ice/more-than-half-of-all-the-hip-hop-record-sales-are-white-people-and-i/) [Vanilla Ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanilla-ice/) > [Scientology is not a White religion. It is not just for White people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-e-fresh/scientology-is-not-a-white-religion-it-is-not-just-for-white-people/) [Doug E. Fresh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-e-fresh/) > [I'm not at all against white people adopting black children, because we're all human beings who need to give love and be nurtured in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kola-boof/i-m-not-at-all-against-white-people-adopting-black-children-because/) [Kola Boof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kola-boof/) > [Liberal white people do not want blacks thinking for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-jones/liberal-white-people-do-not-want-blacks-thinking-for-themselves/) [Vernon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-jones/) ## 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 Expectations quotes > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [My mom had very low expectations for me, and she really had a point. I was a big problem at seventeen. If I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/my-mom-had-very-low-expectations-for-me-and-she-really-had-a-point-i/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [I say this all the time: I've always been really good at managing my expectations so that I'm not let down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-young/i-say-this-all-the-time-i-ve-always-been-really-good-at-managing-my/) [Brett Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-young/) > [When Allah puts barakah (His blessings) in something, it will come beyond your expectations- never underestimate the power of one good deed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/when-allah-puts-barakah-his-blessings-in-something-it-will-come/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [Keeping up with everybody's expectation is soooo hard!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi/keeping-up-with-everybody-s-expectation-is-soooo-hard/) [Naomi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi/) > [I recognize I am essentially a failed human being in the sense that I can't possibly live up to the expectations of an Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-recognize-i-am-essentially-a-failed-human-being-in-the-sense-that-i/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [We're wired to expect the world to be brighter and more meaningful and more obviously interesting than it actually is. And when we realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/we-re-wired-to-expect-the-world-to-be-brighter-and-more-meaningful/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“Does your reality match your expectations? If not it's time to change either your expectations or your reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/does-your-reality-match-your-expectations-if-not-it-s-time-to-change/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [Jesus' kingdom was not like the popular expectation. He used the phrase 'kingdom of God' with a different meaning. His kingdom was not of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-harpur/jesus-kingdom-was-not-like-the-popular-expectation-he-used-the-phrase/) [Tom Harpur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-harpur/) > [Disappointment contains an appointment for doing much better. High expectations mean your higher capacity and belief in abilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/disappointment-contains-an-appointment-for-doing-much-better-high/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [It's a good place when all you have is hope and not expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-boyle/it-s-a-good-place-when-all-you-have-is-hope-and-not-expectations/) [Danny Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-boyle/) > [When we give from a place of love, rather than from a place of expectation, more usually comes back to us than we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/when-we-give-from-a-place-of-love-rather-than-from-a-place-of/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [Everybody out there watches the show and has expectations of wanting to be an 'Idol', but we're going to teach them how much hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-bice/everybody-out-there-watches-the-show-and-has-expectations-of-wanting/) [Bo Bice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-bice/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) [Browse all 4,210 Expectations quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had no expectations of white people at all.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ta-Nehisi Coates" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/i-had-no-expectations-of-white-people-at-all/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Expectations" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/i-had-no-expectations-of-white-people-at-all/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/ta-nehisi-coates-733_expectations_i-had-no-expectations-of-white-people-at_1287555.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/ta-nehisi-coates-733_expectations_i-had-no-expectations-of-white-people-at_1287555.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/ta-nehisi-coates-733_expectations_i-had-no-expectations-of-white-people-at_1287555.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I had no expectations of white people at all.” — 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": "I had no expectations of white...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/i-had-no-expectations-of-white-people-at-all/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/i-had-no-expectations-of-white-people-at-all/#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 } } ] } ```