--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wish I could say that racism and…" description: "\"I wish I could say that racism and prejudice were only distant memories. We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We mus..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/thurgood-marshall-10063_america_i-wish-i-could-say-that-racism-and-preju_763342.png" --- # I wish I could say that racism and prejudice were only… ![“I wish I could say that racism and prejudice were only distant memories. We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from the fear, the hatred and the mistrust…We must dissent because America can do better, because America has no choice but to do better.” quote by Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/thurgood-marshall-10063_america_i-wish-i-could-say-that-racism-and-preju_763342.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/thurgood-marshall-10063_america_i-wish-i-could-say-that-racism-and-preju_763342.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/thurgood-marshall-10063_america_i-wish-i-could-say-that-racism-and-preju_763342.png) > “I wish I could say that racism and prejudice were only distant memories. We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from the fear, the hatred and the mistrust…We must dissent because America can do better, because America has no choice but to do better.” [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Calls for active resistance against racism, urging America to confront indifference, fear, and hatred to improve. **In simple terms:** America must fight racism and apathy to improve. Key Takeaway Actively oppose prejudice. Themes justice activism social change Mood determined urgent Type political inspirational When to use this quote - community organizing - policy reform - education initiatives - public advocacy Key Concepts civil rights collective responsibility moral courage Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals effectively challenge systemic racism? - What actions can institutions take to reduce apathy? A Different Perspective Change requires systemic effort beyond individual dissent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Apathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apathy/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Dissent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissent/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) [Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prejudice/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Racism and prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism-and-prejudice/) [Social justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-justice/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from the fear, the hatred and the mistrust. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/we-must-dissent-from-the-indifference-we-must-dissent-from-the-apathy/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [We must dissent from the fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/we-must-dissent-from-the-fear/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [Unconditional love will have the final word in reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/unconditional-love-will-have-the-final-word-in-reality/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Contact is the best medicine against hate, racism and prejudice. It's something that we should be very wary of, the more segregation we have,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/contact-is-the-best-medicine-against-hate-racism-and-prejudice-it-s/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [Look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin,...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/look-to-a-day-when-people-will-not-be-judged-by-the-color-of-their/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Right-wing propagandists like Limbaugh and Coulter are essentially entertainers, entertainers who stimulate prejudice, selfishness and meanness the way a comedian works for laughs or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-crowther/right-wing-propagandists-like-limbaugh-and-coulter-are-essentially/) Hal Crowther > [There's still a really divisive residue in our nation that's called racism and prejudice and oppression and sexism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurnee-smollett-bell/there-s-still-a-really-divisive-residue-in-our-nation-that-s-called/) [Jurnee Smollett-Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurnee-smollett-bell/) > [Young people want to learn, they are thirsty for knowledge, they want to understand and remember. The main thing is to teach them where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/young-people-want-to-learn-they-are-thirsty-for-knowledge-they-want/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [ Racism and prejudice exist there \[at the National Film Board\] like anywhere else. My history at the Board has not been easy. It's been… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alanis-obomsawin/racism-and-prejudice-exist-there-at-the-national-film-board-like/) [Alanis Obomsawin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alanis-obomsawin/) > [I refuse to accept the view . . . that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-refuse-to-accept-the-view-that-the-bright-daybreak-of-peace-and/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) ## More by Thurgood Marshall > [None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/none-of-us-got-where-we-are-solely-by-pulling-ourselves-up-by-our/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [This is a great country, but fortunately for you, it is not perfect. There is much to be done to bring about complete equality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/this-is-a-great-country-but-fortunately-for-you-it-is-not-perfect/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [Classifications and distinctions based on race or color have no moral or legal validity in our society. They are contrary to our constitution and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/classifications-and-distinctions-based-on-race-or-color-have-no-moral/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [Our whole constitutional heritage rebels at the thought of giving government the power to control men's minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/our-whole-constitutional-heritage-rebels-at-the-thought-of-giving/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [We are all the same](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/we-are-all-the-same/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [We could get more action in the South because the Negroes had a feeling that they were being oppressed. But you take New York,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/we-could-get-more-action-in-the-south-because-the-negroes-had-a/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [We must dissent from the fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/we-must-dissent-from-the-fear/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [I have a lifetime appointment and I intend to serve it. I expect to die at 110, shot by a jealous husband.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/i-have-a-lifetime-appointment-and-i-intend-to-serve-it-i-expect-to/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [The Ku Klux Klan never dies. They just stop wearing sheets because sheets cost too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/the-ku-klux-klan-never-dies-they-just-stop-wearing-sheets-because/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [Some may more quietly commemorate the suffering, struggle, and sacrifice that has triumphed over much of what was wrong with the original document, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/some-may-more-quietly-commemorate-the-suffering-struggle-and/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [It is now well established that the Constitution protects the right to receive information and ideas. ... This right to receive information and ideas,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/it-is-now-well-established-that-the-constitution-protects-the-right/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [To the contrary, the government they devised was defective from the start, requiring several amendments, a civil war and momentous social transformation to attain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/to-the-contrary-the-government-they-devised-was-defective-from-the/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [Today's Constitution is a realistic document of freedom only because of several corrective amendments. Those amendments speak to a sense of decency and fairness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/today-s-constitution-is-a-realistic-document-of-freedom-only-because/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [Truth is more than a mental exercise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/truth-is-more-than-a-mental-exercise/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [We deal here with the right of all of our children, whatever their race, to an equal start in life and to an equal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/we-deal-here-with-the-right-of-all-of-our-children-whatever-their/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) [Explore all 68 Thurgood Marshall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. 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Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wish I could say that racism and prejudice were only distant memories. We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. 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