--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not enough for the Negroes to…" description: "\"“It is not enough for the Negroes to declare that color-prejudice is the sole cause of their social condition, nor for the white South to reply that th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/w-e-b-du-bois-2-12864_african-american_it-is-not-enough-for-the-negroes-to-decl_1718699.jpg" --- # It is not enough for the Negroes to declare that… ![“It is not enough for the Negroes to declare that color-prejudice is the sole cause of their social condition, nor for the white South to reply that their social condition is the main cause of prejudice. They both act as reciprocal cause and effect, and a change in neither alone will bring the…” quote by W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/w-e-b-du-bois-2-12864_african-american_it-is-not-enough-for-the-negroes-to-decl_1718699.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/w-e-b-du-bois-2-12864_african-american_it-is-not-enough-for-the-negroes-to-decl_1718699.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/w-e-b-du-bois-2-12864_african-american_it-is-not-enough-for-the-negroes-to-decl_1718699.jpg) > ““It is not enough for the Negroes to declare that color-prejudice is the sole cause of their social condition, nor for the white South to reply that their social condition is the main cause of prejudice. They both act as reciprocal cause and effect, and a change in neither alone will bring the desired effect. Both must change, or neither can improve to any great extent."(p.88)…"Only by a union of intelligence and sympathy across the color-line in this critical period of the Republic shall justice and right triumph,”” [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Racial prejudice and socioeconomic conditions are interlinked; both sides must transform to achieve true justice and equality. **In simple terms:** Both racism and poverty must be addressed together. Key Takeaway Work on mutual societal change. Themes race economics justice interdependence Mood hopeful urgent Type social political When to use this quote - policy reform - community education - economic development programs - cross‑racial dialogues Key Concepts systemic racism economic inequality reciprocal change social reform Questions to Reflect On - What steps can foster joint transformation? - How can allies bridge racial and economic divides? A Different Perspective Resistance from entrenched interests can stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [African american](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-american/) [African-american-authors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-american-authors/) [Cause and effect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cause-and-effect/) [Prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prejudice/) [Race relations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race-relations/) [Race-and-racism-in-america](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race-and-racism-in-america/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [“Again, we may decry the color-prejudice of the South, yet it remains a heavy fact. Such curious kinks of the human mind exist and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/again-we-may-decry-the-color-prejudice-of-the-south-yet-it-remains-a/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [Prejudice is the sole author of infamies: how many acts are so qualified by an opinion forged out of naught but prejudice!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/prejudice-is-the-sole-author-of-infamies-how-many-acts-are-so/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [“Making the nation safe for white people could be more easily accomplished with the help of a whitewashed tale of its origins.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jabari-asim/making-the-nation-safe-for-white-people-could-be-more-easily/) [Jabari Asim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jabari-asim/) > [“opprobrious term, employed to impose contempt upon”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jabari-asim/opprobrious-term-employed-to-impose-contempt-upon/) [Jabari Asim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jabari-asim/) > [“People cannot handle prejudice because they try to deal with the symptom. Prejudice is the symptom, wrong assumptions are the cause. 'Prejudice is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/people-cannot-handle-prejudice-because-they-try-to-deal-with-the/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“If we were to wake up some morning and find that everyone was the same race, creed and color, we would find some other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-aiken/if-we-were-to-wake-up-some-morning-and-find-that-everyone-was-the/) [George Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-aiken/) > [Color prejudice and religion are akin in one respect. Some folks have it and some don't, and the kernel that is responsible for it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-thurman/color-prejudice-and-religion-are-akin-in-one-respect-some-folks-have/) [Wallace Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-thurman/) > [“It has come as a great revelation to me that abolitionist is different from the desire for racial equality. Color prejudice is at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/it-has-come-as-a-great-revelation-to-me-that-abolitionist-is/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“It has come as a great revelation to me,” I wrote her, “that abolition is different from the desire for racial equality. Color prejudice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/it-has-come-as-a-great-revelation-to-me-i-wrote-her-that-abolition-is/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Color prejudice is at the bottom of everything. If it’s not fixed, the plight of the Negro will continue long after abolition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/color-prejudice-is-at-the-bottom-of-everything-if-it-s-not-fixed-the/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“The South believed an educated Negro to be a dangerous Negro. And the South was not wholly wrong; for education among all kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/the-south-believed-an-educated-negro-to-be-a-dangerous-negro-and-the/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“When I got off the train back home, I saw the WHITE and COLORED signs that had been there all along, as it it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-hampton-marcus/when-i-got-off-the-train-back-home-i-saw-the-white-and-colored-signs/) Dorothy Hampton Marcus > [“Issues can only be resolved if each person accepts accountability in the problem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-wallace/issues-can-only-be-resolved-if-each-person-accepts-accountability-in/) [Carlos Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-wallace/) > [“Bigots often like to say they're the ones being hurt as they oppress and hurt others. Never fall for the 'pity the privileged' routine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashanne-stokes/bigots-often-like-to-say-they-re-the-ones-being-hurt-as-they-oppress/) [DaShanne Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashanne-stokes/) > [“It speaks volumes when people who are discriminated against go on to discriminate against others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashanne-stokes/it-speaks-volumes-when-people-who-are-discriminated-against-go-on-to/) [DaShanne Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashanne-stokes/) ## More by W.E.B. Du Bois > [“The South believed an educated Negro to be a dangerous Negro. And the South was not wholly wrong; for education among all kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/the-south-believed-an-educated-negro-to-be-a-dangerous-negro-and-the/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“So flagrant became the political scandals that reputable men began to leave politics alone, and politics consequently became disreputable. Men began to pride themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/so-flagrant-became-the-political-scandals-that-reputable-men-began-to/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“A university is a human invention for the transmission of knowledge and culture from generation to generation, through the training of quick minds and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/a-university-is-a-human-invention-for-the-transmission-of-knowledge/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“A resistless feeling of depression falls slowly upon us, despite the gaudy sunshine and the green cotton-fields. 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Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“Lo! we are diseased and dying, cried the dark hosts; we cannot write, our voting is vain; what need of education, since we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/lo-we-are-diseased-and-dying-cried-the-dark-hosts-we-cannot-write-our/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“Not a single Southern legislature stood ready to admit a Negro, under any conditions, to the polls; not a single Southern legislature believed free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/not-a-single-southern-legislature-stood-ready-to-admit-a-negro-under/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“I sit with Shakespeare, and he winces not. Across the color line I move arm and arm with Balzac and Dumas, where smiling men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/i-sit-with-shakespeare-and-he-winces-not-across-the-color-line-i-move/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“He began to have a dim feeling that, to attain his place in the world, he must be himself, and not another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/he-began-to-have-a-dim-feeling-that-to-attain-his-place-in-the-world/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“Thus it is doubly difficult to write of this period calmly, so intense was the feeling, so mighty the human passions that swayed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/thus-it-is-doubly-difficult-to-write-of-this-period-calmly-so-intense/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“perhaps, having already reached conclusions in our own minds, we are loth to have them disturbed by facts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/perhaps-having-already-reached-conclusions-in-our-own-minds-we-are/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“was at first bitter, and showed itself in ashes, insult, and blood; for the South believed an educated Negro to be a dangerous Negro.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/was-at-first-bitter-and-showed-itself-in-ashes-insult-and-blood-for/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“ Joseph Stalin was a great man; few other men of the 20th century approach his stature. He was simple, calm and courageous. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/joseph-stalin-was-a-great-man-few-other-men-of-the-20th-century/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) > [“High in the tower, where I sit above the loud complaining of the human sea, I know many souls that toss and whirl and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois-2/high-in-the-tower-where-i-sit-above-the-loud-complaining-of-the-human/) [W.E.B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) [Explore all 53 W.E.B. Du Bois quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois-2/) ## More African american quotes > [This is, for an accomplished Latino, an accomplished African American, an accomplished anyone who disproves stereotypes, it's a constant battle in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/this-is-for-an-accomplished-latino-an-accomplished-african-american/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [I grew up in Synagogue in the boys' choir. We didn't listen to music in the house; only at temple. Then I went to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-patinkin/i-grew-up-in-synagogue-in-the-boys-choir-we-didn-t-listen-to-music-in/) [Mandy Patinkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-patinkin/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. 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I am here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-mehlman/some-republicans-gave-up-on-winning-the-african-american-vote-looking/) [Ken Mehlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-mehlman/) > [It's unfortunate that a lot of people think African-American female artists are monolithically R&B this-or-that, don't have to do anything by default.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/it-s-unfortunate-that-a-lot-of-people-think-african-american-female/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [Whereas our ancestors (not of choice) were the first successful cultivators of the wilds of America, we their descendants feel ourselves entitled to participate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-allen/whereas-our-ancestors-not-of-choice-were-the-first-successful/) [Richard Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-allen/) > [It may be changing, but still it's the one place, that total control of an institution, that African Americans have. 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