--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Still later, I read Ira Katznelson’s…" description: "\"“Still later, I read Ira Katznelson’s history of discrimination, When Affirmative Action Was White, which argued that similar exclusions applied to oth..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26e/ta-nehisi-coates-733_affirmative-action_still-later-i-read-ira-katznelson-s-hist_506266.png" --- # Still later, I read Ira Katznelson’s history of… ![“Still later, I read Ira Katznelson’s history of discrimination, When Affirmative Action Was White, which argued that similar exclusions applied to other “color-blind” New Deal programs, such as the beloved GI Bill, social security, and unemployment insurance. I was slowly apprehending that a…” quote by Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26e/ta-nehisi-coates-733_affirmative-action_still-later-i-read-ira-katznelson-s-hist_506266.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26e/ta-nehisi-coates-733_affirmative-action_still-later-i-read-ira-katznelson-s-hist_506266.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26e/ta-nehisi-coates-733_affirmative-action_still-later-i-read-ira-katznelson-s-hist_506266.png) > ““Still later, I read Ira Katznelson’s history of discrimination, When Affirmative Action Was White, which argued that similar exclusions applied to other “color-blind” New Deal programs, such as the beloved GI Bill, social security, and unemployment insurance. I was slowly apprehending that a rising tide, too, could be made to discriminate. A raft of well-researched books and articles pointed me this way. From historians, I learned that the New Deal’s exclusion of blacks was the price FDR paid to the southern senators for its passage. The price black people paid was being forced out of the greatest government-backed wealth-building opportunity in the twentieth century. The price of discrimination had more dimensions than those that were immediately observable. Since the country’s wealth was distributed along the lines of race and because black families were cordoned off, resources accrued and compounded for whites while relative poverty accrued for blacks. And so it was not simply that black people were more likely to be poor but that black people—of all classes—were more likely to live in poor neighborhoods. So thick was the barrier of segregation that upper-class blacks were more likely to live in poor neighborhoods than poor whites.”” [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 New Deal’s so-called color‑blind policies excluded Black Americans, creating lasting wealth gaps and concentrated poverty regardless of class. **In simple terms:** Historical policies discriminated, causing lasting racial wealth gaps. Key Takeaway Recognize and address structural racism in policy. Themes racism economic inequality history policy segregation Mood reflective critical informed Type historical analytical social commentary When to use this quote - housing policy - education funding - employment practices - wealth building strategies Key Concepts structural racism wealth accumulation social stratification Questions to Reflect On - How do past policies shape today’s economic disparities? - What policies can reverse entrenched wealth gaps? A Different Perspective Historical analysis may overlook individual agency and contemporary complexities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affirmative action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affirmative-action/) [Black people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-people/) [Cybersecurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cybersecurity/) [Discrimination Affirmative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discrimination-affirmative-393525/) [Exclusion Blacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exclusion-blacks-3258127/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Discrimination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-discrimination-4301708/) [New deal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-deal/) [Positive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Social security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-security/) ## Related quotes > [The fact is that in too many parts of our country, we still have discrimination. And affirmative action is not just something that applies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/the-fact-is-that-in-too-many-parts-of-our-country-we-still-have/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [Affirmative action is the most important antidiscrimination technique ever instituted in the United States. It is the one tool that has had a demonstrable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-holmes-norton/affirmative-action-is-the-most-important-antidiscrimination-technique/) [Eleanor Holmes Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-holmes-norton/) > [Too often the result of affirmative action has been an artificial diversity that gives the appearance of parity between blacks and whites that has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/too-often-the-result-of-affirmative-action-has-been-an-artificial/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [“The exclusion of blacks from high-skill, high-wage employment is rooted in Jim Crow and resistance to integration and is sustained through tradition, word-of-mouth network…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-alexander/the-exclusion-of-blacks-from-high-skill-high-wage-employment-is/) [Karl Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-alexander/) > [There were lots of smart black people at Harvard before Barack Obama, but none of them ever got to head up the law review.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/there-were-lots-of-smart-black-people-at-harvard-before-barack-obama/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [Those who have read history with discrimination know the fallacy of those panegyrics and invectives which represent individuals as effecting great moral and intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/those-who-have-read-history-with-discrimination-know-the-fallacy-of/) [Thomas B. 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The New Deal set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-reid/the-great-depression-they-come-out-with-the-new-deal-black-people/) [Eric Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-reid/) > [We need to strengthen and save Social Security for today's workers. 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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/) ## 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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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. 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Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [Without application of the mind; there is no drive for taking affirmative action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mercado/without-application-of-the-mind-there-is-no-drive-for-taking/) [Joseph Mercado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mercado/) > [Affirmative action was designed to recognize the uniquely difficult journey of African-Americans. 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Page 188”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/i-think-that-even-someone-who-got-into-an-institution-through/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [If they're all so brilliant and I'm such an affirmative-action hire, how come they didn't catch me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-blair/if-they-re-all-so-brilliant-and-i-m-such-an-affirmative-action-hire/) [Jayson Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-blair/) > [The purpose of affirmative action is to give our nation a way to finally address the systemic exclusion of individuals of talent on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/the-purpose-of-affirmative-action-is-to-give-our-nation-a-way-to/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Affirmative action has a negative effect on our society when it means counting us like so many beans and dividing us into separate piles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kasich/affirmative-action-has-a-negative-effect-on-our-society-when-it-means/) [John Kasich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kasich/) [Browse all 231 Affirmative action quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affirmative-action/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Still later, I read Ira Katznelson’s history of discrimination, When Affirmative Action Was White, which argued that similar exclusions applied to other “color-blind” New Deal programs, such as the beloved GI Bill, social security, and unemployment insurance. I was slowly apprehending that a rising tide, too, could be made to discriminate. A raft of well-researched books and articles pointed me this way. From historians, I learned that the New Deal’s exclusion of blacks was the price FDR paid to the southern senators for its passage. The price black people paid was being forced out of the greatest government-backed wealth-building opportunity in the twentieth century. The price of discrimination had more dimensions than those that were immediately observable. Since the country’s wealth was distributed along the lines of race and because black families were cordoned off, resources accrued and compounded for whites while relative poverty accrued for blacks. And so it was not simply that black people were more likely to be poor but that black people—of all classes—were more likely to live in poor neighborhoods. 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