--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Serious history was the West, and the…" description: "\"“Serious history was the West, and the West was white.”\" — Ta-Nehisi Coates" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e1/ta-nehisi-coates-733_history_serious-history-was-the-west-and-the-wes_324590.png" --- # Serious history was the West, and the West was white. ![“Serious history was the West, and the West was white.” quote by Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e1/ta-nehisi-coates-733_history_serious-history-was-the-west-and-the-wes_324590.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e1/ta-nehisi-coates-733_history_serious-history-was-the-west-and-the-wes_324590.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e1/ta-nehisi-coates-733_history_serious-history-was-the-west-and-the-wes_324590.png) > ““Serious history was the West, and the West was white.”” [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. Historical narratives often portray the West as dominant and white, marginalizing other perspectives. **In simple terms:** History centers white West. Key Takeaway Seek diverse viewpoints in history. Themes race history identity Mood critical serious Type analytical historical When to use this quote - education - media analysis - policy making Key Concepts colonialism power structures racial dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect current social policies? - What other narratives are missing? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on race may overlook class and cultural factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [The West is not in the West. It is a project, not a place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edouard-glissant/the-west-is-not-in-the-west-it-is-a-project-not-a-place/) Edouard Glissant > [I am not a puppet. I was not made by the West to go to the West or to any other country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bashar-al-assad/i-am-not-a-puppet-i-was-not-made-by-the-west-to-go-to-the-west-or-to/) [Bashar al-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bashar-al-assad/) > [The mixture of the oral and the written traditions in the writings of Plato enabled him to dominate the history of the West.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-innis/the-mixture-of-the-oral-and-the-written-traditions-in-the-writings-of/) [Harold Innis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-innis/) > [I've always been interested in the history of the West, our country and particularly as it relates to the Native Americans - the original…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beau-bridges/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-the-history-of-the-west-our-country/) [Beau Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beau-bridges/) > [I grew up in wide-open spaces, but they didn't have the romantic history of the West.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-taylor/i-grew-up-in-wide-open-spaces-but-they-didn-t-have-the-romantic/) [Robert Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-taylor/) > [ \[Grew up in Hawaii\] 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/) > [ \[Winning the White House was an achievement\], 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/) > [“The focus on one sector of Trump voters—the white working class—is puzzling, given the breadth of his white coalition. 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We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) ## 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. 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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 History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. 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It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' 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