--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some slaves, however, were \"too white to…" description: "\"“Some slaves, however, were \"too white to keep.\" That was how Edmund was described by the man who had sold him from Tennessee. The man's hope was that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f29/walter-johnson-29912_hope_some-slaves-however-were-too-white-to-ke_1676650.jpg" --- # Some slaves, however, were "too white to keep." That was… ![“Some slaves, however, were "too white to keep." That was how Edmund was described by the man who had sold him from Tennessee. The man's hope was that such a sale would make it more difficult for Edmund to escape from slavery, but, as it was, New Orleans suited the slave well: within a day of…” quote by Walter Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f29/walter-johnson-29912_hope_some-slaves-however-were-too-white-to-ke_1676650.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f29/walter-johnson-29912_hope_some-slaves-however-were-too-white-to-ke_1676650.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f29/walter-johnson-29912_hope_some-slaves-however-were-too-white-to-ke_1676650.jpg) > ““Some slaves, however, were "too white to keep." That was how Edmund was described by the man who had sold him from Tennessee. The man's hope was that such a sale would make it more difficult for Edmund to escape from slavery, but, as it was, New Orleans suited the slave well: within a day of arriving in the city, Edmund had slipped unnoticed onto a steamboat and disappeared. So, too, Robert, who boarded the steamboat that carried him away from slavery and New Orleans as a white man. "I should have thought he was of Spanish origin," remembered one of his fellow passengers, "he was a man of clear skin and dark complexion." But more than the way Robert looked, the other passengers remembered the way he acted: "he was very genteely dressed and of a very genteel deportment"; "he had more the appearance of a gentleman than a plebeian"; and, almost every witness noted, "usually seated himself at the first table, high up, and near the ladies." Robert, it turned out, had once”” [Walter Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A slave’s light skin and refined demeanor allowed him to evade capture by passing as free, highlighting how appearance and behavior can subvert oppressive systems. **In simple terms:** Appearance can be a tool for survival. Key Takeaway Use perception strategically. Themes slavery identity passing freedom Mood somber thoughtful Type historical literary When to use this quote - escape planning - legal disguise - social mobility strategies Key Concepts racial ambiguity social performance Questions to Reflect On - What moral dilemmas arise when one must hide true identity? - How does society judge appearance versus character? A Different Perspective Relying on passing can be dangerous if discovered. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Away Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/away-slavery-914875/) [Described Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/described-man-914877/) [Edmund Described](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edmund-described-914873/) [Edmund Escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edmund-escape-914876/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [New orleans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-orleans/) [Slaves White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaves-white-914874/) ## Related quotes > [“That was a difference between black slaves and white indentured servants. Black slaves were usually not allowed to keep their names, but were given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosa-parks/that-was-a-difference-between-black-slaves-and-white-indentured/) [Rosa Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosa-parks/) > [The sky is dark. But to understand something is to give light. 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So yeah,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emeril-lagasse/my-office-in-new-york-is-overflowing-with-all-kinds-of-cookbooks-and/) [Emeril Lagasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emeril-lagasse/) > [What we do in New Orleans, man - we party!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-foxx/what-we-do-in-new-orleans-man-we-party/) [Jamie Foxx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-foxx/) > [I started off playing by ear, and being around a bunch of musicians and playing in the streets and in the different parades and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-andrews/i-started-off-playing-by-ear-and-being-around-a-bunch-of-musicians/) [Troy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-andrews/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) ## More by Walter Johnson > [The beanball is one of the meanest things on Earth and no decent fellow would use it. The beanball is a potential murderer. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-johnson/the-beanball-is-one-of-the-meanest-things-on-earth-and-no-decent/) [Walter Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-johnson/) > [“Solomon Northup, who had been kidnapped from New York, taken to Virginia, and then sold to Louisiana, told no one his story, for fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-johnson/solomon-northup-who-had-been-kidnapped-from-new-york-taken-to/) [Walter Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-johnson/) > [“But the reformers were right: the bovine digestive system is an extraordinarily efficient mechanism for converting grass, fodder, and even forage into fertilizer.15 Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-johnson/but-the-reformers-were-right-the-bovine-digestive-system-is-an/) [Walter Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-johnson/) > [“Occasionally, however, when chided by their slaves or others, slaveholders did act in concert with the better selves of their paternalist rhetoric. 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Listen mister, no man alive can throw any harder than Smoky Joe Wood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-johnson/can-i-throw-harder-than-joe-wood-listen-mister-no-man-alive-can-throw/) [Walter Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-johnson/) > [You can't hit what you can't see](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-johnson/you-can-t-hit-what-you-can-t-see/) [Walter Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-johnson/) > [I was the greenest rookie that ever was. One evening I was standing out on the sidewalk when a stranger approached and said, 'You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-johnson/i-was-the-greenest-rookie-that-ever-was-one-evening-i-was-standing/) [Walter Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-johnson/) > [“South. In southern courtrooms and medical journals, slaves' misbehavior was often attributed to an inward disposition of character, which meant that there was something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-johnson/south-in-southern-courtrooms-and-medical-journals-slaves-misbehavior/) [Walter Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-johnson/) > [The cost of anything is the foregone alternative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-johnson/the-cost-of-anything-is-the-foregone-alternative/) [Walter Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-johnson/) > [(Bob) Feller isn't quite as fast as I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-johnson/bob-feller-isn-t-quite-as-fast-as-i-was/) [Walter Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-johnson/) > [Can I throw harder than Joe Wood? Listen mister, no man alive can throw any harder than Smokey Joe Wood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-johnson/can-i-throw-harder-than-joe-wood-listen-mister-no-man-alive-can-throw-2/) [Walter Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-johnson/) > [“The vitality associated with blackness might cancel out the vulnerability associated with femininity in the search for a field hand, while a "bright disposition"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-johnson/the-vitality-associated-with-blackness-might-cancel-out-the/) [Walter Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-johnson/) [Explore all 18 Walter Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-johnson/) ## More Hope quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“What can we do in any hardship? We can hope with prayerful praise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/what-can-we-do-in-any-hardship-we-can-hope-with-prayerful-praise/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stop trying to give me hope ... I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/) [Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Give me love, give me peace on earth, give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth, give me hope, help me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-love-give-me-peace-on-earth-give-me-light-give-me-life-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pray, hope, don't worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/pray-hope-don-t-worry/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [I am at a point in my life where everything I have worked for starts to look like a burden, a weight on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-abou-samra/i-am-at-a-point-in-my-life-where-everything-i-have-worked-for-starts/) [Simone Abou Samra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-abou-samra/) > [Im really happy that I met you I hope you know that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/im-really-happy-that-i-met-you-i-hope-you-know-that/) [Im Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/im-nothing/) > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Browse all 24,868 Hope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Some slaves, however, were \"too white to keep.\" That was how Edmund was described by the man who had sold him from Tennessee. The man's hope was that such a sale would make it more difficult for Edmund to escape from slavery, but, as it was, New Orleans suited the slave well: within a day of arriving in the city, Edmund had slipped unnoticed onto a steamboat and disappeared. So, too, Robert, who boarded the steamboat that carried him away from slavery and New Orleans as a white man. \"I should have thought he was of Spanish origin,\" remembered one of his fellow passengers, \"he was a man of clear skin and dark complexion.\" But more than the way Robert looked, the other passengers remembered the way he acted: \"he was very genteely dressed and of a very genteel deportment\"; \"he had more the appearance of a gentleman than a plebeian\"; and, almost every witness noted, \"usually seated himself at the first table, high up, and near the ladies.\" Robert, it turned out, had once”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Walter Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-johnson/some-slaves-however-were-too-white-to-keep-that-was-how-edmund-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hope" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-johnson/some-slaves-however-were-too-white-to-keep-that-was-how-edmund-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f29/walter-johnson-29912_hope_some-slaves-however-were-too-white-to-ke_1676650.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f29/walter-johnson-29912_hope_some-slaves-however-were-too-white-to-ke_1676650.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f29/walter-johnson-29912_hope_some-slaves-however-were-too-white-to-ke_1676650.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Some slaves, however, were \"too white to keep.\" That was how Edmund was described by the man who had sold…” — Walter Johnson", "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": "Walter Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Some slaves, however, were \"too white...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-johnson/some-slaves-however-were-too-white-to-keep-that-was-how-edmund-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-johnson/some-slaves-however-were-too-white-to-keep-that-was-how-edmund-was/#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 } } ] } ```