--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was not a single Negro slave owner…" description: "\"There was not a single Negro slave owner who did not know dozens of Negroes just as capable of learning and efficiency as the mass of poor white people..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/w-e-b-du-bois-2240_efficiency_there-was-not-a-single-negro-slave-owner_577012.png" --- # There was not a single Negro slave owner who did not know… ![“There was not a single Negro slave owner who did not know dozens of Negroes just as capable of learning and efficiency as the mass of poor white people around and about, and some quite as capable as the average slaveholder. They had continually, in the course of the history of slavery, recognized…” quote by W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/w-e-b-du-bois-2240_efficiency_there-was-not-a-single-negro-slave-owner_577012.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/w-e-b-du-bois-2240_efficiency_there-was-not-a-single-negro-slave-owner_577012.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/w-e-b-du-bois-2240_efficiency_there-was-not-a-single-negro-slave-owner_577012.png) > “There was not a single Negro slave owner who did not know dozens of Negroes just as capable of learning and efficiency as the mass of poor white people around and about, and some quite as capable as the average slaveholder. They had continually, in the course of the history of slavery, recognized such men.” [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that Black people possessed equal intelligence and work ethic to white people, and that slave owners sometimes acknowledged this. **In simple terms:** Black people were as capable as whites. Key Takeaway Recognize and value equal abilities. Themes equality race history labor recognition Mood reflective inspirational Type historical social commentary When to use this quote - education reform - workplace equality - historical analysis - civil rights advocacy Key Concepts social hierarchy human potential Questions to Reflect On - How can we address historical biases in modern institutions? - What steps ensure equal recognition today? A Different Perspective The statement may overlook systemic oppression that limited opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Efficiency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/efficiency/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [White people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-people/) ## Related quotes > [“Teach him to worry about whether he wants to be free, and he will not free himself. Again, it may be said that this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/teach-him-to-worry-about-whether-he-wants-to-be-free-and-he-will-not/) [G. K. 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Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-w-campbell/) > [It wasn't so bad being a slave when your owner was yourself and stood up for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/it-wasn-t-so-bad-being-a-slave-when-your-owner-was-yourself-and-stood/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“What could be better for slave owners than slaves who think they’re free? 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Du Bois > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [As a race, the Negroes are not lazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/as-a-race-the-negroes-are-not-lazy/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [If there is anybody in this land who thoroughly believes that the meek shall inherit the earth they have not often let their presence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/if-there-is-anybody-in-this-land-who-thoroughly-believes-that-the/) [W. E. B. 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Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [The use of slave women as day workers naturally broke up or made impossible the normal Negro home, and this and the slave code…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/the-use-of-slave-women-as-day-workers-naturally-broke-up-or-made/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Before the Civil War, the Negro was certainly as efficient a workman as the raw immigrant from Ireland or Germany. But, whereas the Irishmen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/before-the-civil-war-the-negro-was-certainly-as-efficient-a-workman/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [All art is propaganda, and ever must be, despite the wailing of the purists. I stand in utter shamelessness and say that whatever art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/all-art-is-propaganda-and-ever-must-be-despite-the-wailing-of-the/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [The ruling of men is the effort to direct the individual actions of many persons toward some end. This end theoretically should be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/the-ruling-of-men-is-the-effort-to-direct-the-individual-actions-of/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Education is that whole system of human training within and without the school house walls, which molds and develops men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/education-is-that-whole-system-of-human-training-within-and-without/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [As Negro voting increased, Congress got an improved sense of hearing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/as-negro-voting-increased-congress-got-an-improved-sense-of-hearing/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [From the day of its birth, the anomaly of slavery plagued a nation which asserted the equality of all men, and sought to derive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/from-the-day-of-its-birth-the-anomaly-of-slavery-plagued-a-nation/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [It is the stars, it is the ancient stars, it is the young and everlasting stars!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/it-is-the-stars-it-is-the-ancient-stars-it-is-the-young-and/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/it-is-a-peculiar-sensation-this-double-consciousness-this-sense-of/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) [Explore all 177 W. E. 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Davey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-e-davey/) [Browse all 782 Efficiency quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/efficiency/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There was not a single Negro slave owner who did not know dozens of Negroes just as capable of learning and efficiency as the mass of poor white people around and about, and some quite as capable as the average slaveholder. They had continually, in the course of the history of slavery, recognized such men.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. E. B. 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