--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There could be something wrong with me…" description: "\"“There could be something wrong with me because I see Negroes neither better nor worse than any other race. Race pride is a luxury I cannot afford. The..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/349/zora-neale-hurston-923_individuality_there-could-be-something-wrong-with-me-b_2631281.png" --- # There could be something wrong with me because I see… ![“There could be something wrong with me because I see Negroes neither better nor worse than any other race. Race pride is a luxury I cannot afford. There are too many implications bend the term. Now, suppose a Negro does something really magnificent, and I glory, not in the benefit to mankind, but…” quote by Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/349/zora-neale-hurston-923_individuality_there-could-be-something-wrong-with-me-b_2631281.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/349/zora-neale-hurston-923_individuality_there-could-be-something-wrong-with-me-b_2631281.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/349/zora-neale-hurston-923_individuality_there-could-be-something-wrong-with-me-b_2631281.png) > ““There could be something wrong with me because I see Negroes neither better nor worse than any other race. Race pride is a luxury I cannot afford. There are too many implications bend the term. Now, suppose a Negro does something really magnificent, and I glory, not in the benefit to mankind, but the fact that the doer was a Negro. Must I not also go hang my head in shame when a member of my race does something execrable? If I glory, then the obligation is laid upon me to blush also. I do glory when a Negro does something fine, I gloat because he or she has done a fine thing, but not because he was a Negro. That is incidental and accidental. It is the human achievement which I honor. I execrate a foul act of a Negro but again not on the grounds that the doer was a Negro, but because it was foul. A member of my race just happened to be the fouler of humanity. In other words, I know that I cannot accept responsibility for thirteen million people. Every tub must sit on its own bottom regardless. So 'Race Pride' in me had to go. And anyway, why should I be proud to be Negro? Why should anyone be proud to be white? Or yellow? Or red? After all, the word 'race' is a loose classification of physical characteristics. I tells nothing about the insides of people. Pointing a achievements tells nothing either. Races have never done anything. What seems race achievement is the work of individuals. The white race did not go into a laboratory and invent incandescent light. That was Edison. The Jews did not work out Relativity. That was Einstein. The Negros did not find out the inner secrets of peanuts and sweet potatoes, nor the secret of the development of the egg. That wad Carver and Just. If you are under the impression that every white man is Edison, just look around a bit. If you have the idea that every Negro is a Carver, you had better take off plenty of time to do your searching.”” [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pride in race is a false construct; individuals should be judged by actions, not skin color. **In simple terms:** Race pride is misleading; judge people by deeds. Key Takeaway Focus on personal merit, not racial identity. Themes identity pride humanism equality individualism Mood thoughtful challenging inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - education curricula - diversity training - public discourse - personal reflection Key Concepts social identity theory ethical relativism human dignity Questions to Reflect On - What are the limits of a color‑blind approach? - How can we address both individual merit and systemic inequality? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on race can ignore systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accept Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accept-responsibility/) [Individuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuality/) [Negro Foul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negro-foul-2191384/) [Negro Proud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negro-proud-323918/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Proud Negro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proud-negro-993913/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Race Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race-pride-425047/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Suppose Negro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suppose-negro-1654291/) ## Related quotes > [Now, suppose a Negro does something really magnificent, and I glory, not in the benefit to mankind, but in the fact that the doer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/now-suppose-a-negro-does-something-really-magnificent-and-i-glory-not/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [Black! Black! Black! I am proud of being a Negro. Nor have I ever tried to beg tolerance from anyone. Superiority is not proved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-celso-barbosa/black-black-black-i-am-proud-of-being-a-negro-nor-have-i-ever-tried/) [Jose Celso Barbosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-celso-barbosa/) > [My mother, religious-negro, proud of Having waded through a storm, is, very obviously, A sturdy Black bridge that I Crossed over, on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-rodgers/my-mother-religious-negro-proud-of-having-waded-through-a-storm-is-2/) [Carolyn Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-rodgers/) > [My mother, religious-negro, proud of having waded through a storm, is, very obviously a sturdy bridge that I have crossed over on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-cade-bambara/my-mother-religious-negro-proud-of-having-waded-through-a-storm-is/) [Toni Cade Bambara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-cade-bambara/) > [I hate pride, but if I were going to be proud of anything it would have to be something I'd done myself. 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Breakout church leaders accept responsibility and see God's possibilities in even difficult situations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-s-rainer/weak-leaders-of-churches-blame-people-and-circumstances-breakout/) [Thom S. Rainer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-s-rainer/) > [It would have been easier to fight alone with inadequate forces than to have to accept...responsibility for our ally's lack of fighting qualities and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-kesselring/it-would-have-been-easier-to-fight-alone-with-inadequate-forces-than/) [Albert Kesselring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-kesselring/) > [Nobody ever indited down an orchestration to be impecunious, fat, indolent, or incoherent. Those things are what transpire when you dont have an orchestration.Accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apoorv-awasthi/nobody-ever-indited-down-an-orchestration-to-be-impecunious-fat/) [Apoorv Awasthi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apoorv-awasthi/) > [“I don't have sympathy for people who wrap themselves in injury caused by their inability to deal with personal inadequacies and refusal to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-mills/i-don-t-have-sympathy-for-people-who-wrap-themselves-in-injury-caused/) [Nikki Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-mills/) > [“If we enjoy the right to freedom, it is because we accept our responsibility not to harm or harass others. If we expect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-visser/if-we-enjoy-the-right-to-freedom-it-is-because-we-accept-our/) [Wayne Visser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-visser/) ## More by Zora Neale Hurston > [It seemed to me that the human beings I met reacted pretty much the same to the same stimuli. Different idioms,yes. Circumstances and conditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/it-seemed-to-me-that-the-human-beings-i-met-reacted-pretty-much-the/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [“Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/ships-at-a-distance-have-every-man-s-wish-on-board-for-some-they-come/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [Please God, please suh, don't let him love nobody else but me. Maybe Ah'm is uh fool, Lawd, lak dey say, but Lawd, Ah…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/please-god-please-suh-don-t-let-him-love-nobody-else-but-me-maybe-ah/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [“But mostly she lived between her hat and her heels, with her emotional disturbances like shade patterns in the woods—come and gone with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/but-mostly-she-lived-between-her-hat-and-her-heels-with-her-emotional/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [Light came to me when I realized that I did not have to consider any racial group as a whole. 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Chicken drink water, but he don’t pee-pee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/ah-jus-lak-uh-chicken-chicken-drink-water-but-he-don-t-pee-pee/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [“Like the pecking-order in a chicken yard. Insensate cruelty to those you can whip, and groveling submission to those you can’t. 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Race pride is a luxury I cannot afford. There are too many implications bend the term. Now, suppose a Negro does something really magnificent, and I glory, not in the benefit to mankind, but the fact that the doer was a Negro. Must I not also go hang my head in shame when a member of my race does something execrable? If I glory, then the obligation is laid upon me to blush also. I do glory when a Negro does something fine, I gloat because he or she has done a fine thing, but not because he was a Negro. That is incidental and accidental. It is the human achievement which I honor. I execrate a foul act of a Negro but again not on the grounds that the doer was a Negro, but because it was foul. A member of my race just happened to be the fouler of humanity. In other words, I know that I cannot accept responsibility for thirteen million people. Every tub must sit on its own bottom regardless. So 'Race Pride' in me had to go. And anyway, why should I be proud to be Negro? Why should anyone be proud to be white? Or yellow? Or red? After all, the word 'race' is a loose classification of physical characteristics. I tells nothing about the insides of people. Pointing a achievements tells nothing either. Races have never done anything. What seems race achievement is the work of individuals. The white race did not go into a laboratory and invent incandescent light. That was Edison. The Jews did not work out Relativity. That was Einstein. The Negros did not find out the inner secrets of peanuts and sweet potatoes, nor the secret of the development of the egg. That wad Carver and Just. If you are under the impression that every white man is Edison, just look around a bit. If you have the idea that every Negro is a Carver, you had better take off plenty of time to do your searching.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Zora Neale Hurston" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/there-could-be-something-wrong-with-me-because-i-see-negroes-neither/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Individuality" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/there-could-be-something-wrong-with-me-because-i-see-negroes-neither/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/349/zora-neale-hurston-923_individuality_there-could-be-something-wrong-with-me-b_2631281.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/349/zora-neale-hurston-923_individuality_there-could-be-something-wrong-with-me-b_2631281.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/349/zora-neale-hurston-923_individuality_there-could-be-something-wrong-with-me-b_2631281.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There could be something wrong with me because I see Negroes neither better nor worse than any other race…” — Zora Neale Hurston", "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": "Zora Neale Hurston", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There could be something wrong with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/there-could-be-something-wrong-with-me-because-i-see-negroes-neither/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/there-could-be-something-wrong-with-me-because-i-see-negroes-neither/#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 } } ] } ```