---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think of people as out-and-out…"
description: "\"I don't think of people as out-and-out black or white.\" — Tabu"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/tabu-5871_black_i-don-t-think-of-people-as-out-and-out-b_40531.jpg"
---

#  I don't think of people as out-and-out black or white.

![“I don't think of people as out-and-out black or white.” quote by Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/tabu-5871_black_i-don-t-think-of-people-as-out-and-out-b_40531.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/tabu-5871_black_i-don-t-think-of-people-as-out-and-out-b_40531.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/tabu-5871_black_i-don-t-think-of-people-as-out-and-out-b_40531.jpg)

> “I don't think of people as out-and-out black or white.”

[Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Rejects binary labeling of individuals, emphasizing nuanced identity and behavior.

**In simple terms:** Avoids black‑and‑white judgments.

Key Takeaway

People are complex, not strictly good or bad.

Themes

Nuance Identity Complexity Perspective Empathy

Mood

Reflective Open‑minded

Type

Philosophical Observational

When to use this quote

- Conflict resolution
- Diversity training
- Personal reflection
- Team building
- Counseling

Key Concepts

Human nature Moral relativism

Practical Applications

- Facilitating inclusive policies
- Improving interpersonal communication

Questions to Reflect On

- How does binary thinking limit understanding?
- What benefits arise from recognizing shades of gray?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black or white](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-or-white/) [Black white](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-white/) [Don Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-think/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-black/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-people/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/)

## Related quotes

> [“I learned that the best way to take all people, black or white, is to take them for what they think they are, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-learned-that-the-best-way-to-take-all-people-black-or-white-is-to/)

[William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/)

> [“All those people in their black-and-white worlds - they have no idea what they're missing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-mass/all-those-people-in-their-black-and-white-worlds-they-have-no-idea/)

[Wendy Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-mass/)

> [You didn't know whether Chuck Berry was black or white - it was not a concern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/you-didn-t-know-whether-chuck-berry-was-black-or-white-it-was-not-a/)

[Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/)

> [Nothing is black or white.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/nothing-is-black-or-white/)

[Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/)

> [There are only two colors to paint a boat, black or white, and only a fool would paint a boat black.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-greene-herreshoff/there-are-only-two-colors-to-paint-a-boat-black-or-white-and-only-a/)

[Nathanael Greene Herreshoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-greene-herreshoff/)

> [It doesnt matter wether your black or white all that matter is the world learning a language called love and beautiful colours show](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-luvuka/it-doesnt-matter-wether-your-black-or-white-all-that-matter-is-the/)

[Vincent Luvuka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-luvuka/)

> [I'd have wasted a lot of time and trouble before I learned that the best way to take all people, black or white, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-d-have-wasted-a-lot-of-time-and-trouble-before-i-learned-that-the/)

[William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/)

> [“There is good in bad, and bad in good. Nothing is ever all black or white,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberta-kagan/there-is-good-in-bad-and-bad-in-good-nothing-is-ever-all-black-or/)

[Roberta Kagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberta-kagan/)

> [It aint about black or white cause we're human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/it-aint-about-black-or-white-cause-we-re-human/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

> [Black or White it dont matter who you are at night. What matters to me is that you will always understand me Day or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/black-or-white-it-dont-matter-who-you-are-at-night-what-matters-to-me/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [One can steal ideas, but no one can steal execution or passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ferriss/one-can-steal-ideas-but-no-one-can-steal-execution-or-passion/)

[Tim Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ferriss/)

> [Money has no color. If you can build a better mousetrap, it won't matter whether you're black or white. People will buy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-g-gaston/money-has-no-color-if-you-can-build-a-better-mousetrap-it-won-t/)

[A. G. Gaston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-g-gaston/)

> [“You’re trying to paint things as either black or white,” he said. “As either good or evil. It’s never that neat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-chamberlain/you-re-trying-to-paint-things-as-either-black-or-white-he-said-as/)

[Diane Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-chamberlain/)

> [In the music industry it's just you're either Black or white, and this is the box you get put in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/india-arie-2/in-the-music-industry-it-s-just-you-re-either-black-or-white-and-this/)

[India.Arie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/india-arie-2/)

> [It aint about black or white, coz we all human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/2pac/it-aint-about-black-or-white-coz-we-all-human/)

[2pac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/2pac/)

## More by Tabu

> [I love song and dance films in Bollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/i-love-song-and-dance-films-in-bollywood/)

[Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/)

> [If I am doing a certain kind of cinema, that does not mean I hate the other kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/if-i-am-doing-a-certain-kind-of-cinema-that-does-not-mean-i-hate-the/)

[Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/)

> [I always maintain that the film industry and film people across the globe are more or less the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/i-always-maintain-that-the-film-industry-and-film-people-across-the/)

[Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/)

> [I don't disown feminism, but I don't believe in such labels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/i-don-t-disown-feminism-but-i-don-t-believe-in-such-labels/)

[Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/)

> [Working in 'Mian Maqbool' was a refreshing experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/working-in-mian-maqbool-was-a-refreshing-experience/)

[Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/)

> [All over the world, actors and actresses are chosen for their performing skills. Not how they look or what they wear. It is all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/all-over-the-world-actors-and-actresses-are-chosen-for-their/)

[Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/)

> [As a viewer, I will go and watch only commercial films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/as-a-viewer-i-will-go-and-watch-only-commercial-films/)

[Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/)

> [I grew up in the seventies, and films for us were larger-than-life, masala entertainers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/i-grew-up-in-the-seventies-and-films-for-us-were-larger-than-life/)

[Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/)

> [I think every actor worth his or her salt wants to do good, meaningful cinema.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/i-think-every-actor-worth-his-or-her-salt-wants-to-do-good-meaningful/)

[Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/)

> [Working in 'The Namesake' was a personally enriching experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/working-in-the-namesake-was-a-personally-enriching-experience/)

[Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/)

> [My relationship with every film is more or less the same, but the experience is the difference. It comes with the people I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/my-relationship-with-every-film-is-more-or-less-the-same-but-the/)

[Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/)

> [Promotions create awareness, but if there is no merit to the film, what will promotions do anyway?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/promotions-create-awareness-but-if-there-is-no-merit-to-the-film-what/)

[Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/)

> [When I was younger, 15 years or 20 years seemed like a really long time. But, as you journey though life, you don't realise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/when-i-was-younger-15-years-or-20-years-seemed-like-a-really-long/)

[Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/)

> [I want to complete 100 films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/i-want-to-complete-100-films/)

[Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/)

> [I have such a temperament that I cannot do anything in excess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/i-have-such-a-temperament-that-i-cannot-do-anything-in-excess/)

[Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/)

[Explore all 100 Tabu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/)

## More Black quotes

> [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/)

[Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/)

> [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/)

[Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/)

> [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/)

[Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/)

> [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/)

[Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/)

> [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/)

[Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/)

> [How can you be more subject; black woman in a white man's world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/how-can-you-be-more-subject-black-woman-in-a-white-man-s-world/)

[Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/)

> [We have to build our own power. 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/)

> [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/)

[Frank B. Wilderson III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-b-wilderson-iii/)

> [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/)

[Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/)

> [If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/if-soot-stains-your-tunic-dye-it-black-this-is-vengeance/)

[R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/)

> [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/)

[John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/)

> [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/)

[Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/)

> [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/)

[Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/)

> [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/)

[Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/)

[Browse all 11,655 Black quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I don't think of people as out-and-out black or white.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Tabu"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/i-don-t-think-of-people-as-out-and-out-black-or-white/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Black"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/i-don-t-think-of-people-as-out-and-out-black-or-white/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/tabu-5871_black_i-don-t-think-of-people-as-out-and-out-b_40531.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/tabu-5871_black_i-don-t-think-of-people-as-out-and-out-b_40531.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/tabu-5871_black_i-don-t-think-of-people-as-out-and-out-b_40531.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I don't think of people as out-and-out black or white.” — Tabu",
                "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": "Tabu",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I don't think of people as...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/i-don-t-think-of-people-as-out-and-out-black-or-white/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/i-don-t-think-of-people-as-out-and-out-black-or-white/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
