John Edgar Wideman Quotes

The negro has suffered far more from the commission of this crime against the women of his race by white men than the white race has ever suffered through his crimes.

There is nothing we can do about the lynching now, as we are out-numbered and without arms.

The lives of African-Americans in this country are characterized by violence for most of our history. Much of that violence, at least to some extent, you know, done by the very state that's supposed to protect them.

These barbarities [American lynchings] have found many apologists, on the ground that the negroes are licentious and dishonest--as, indeed, many of them are. But who set them the example, and educated them in these vices? In too many cases the white population, and even their legal authorities.

Slavery was our original sin. Race, our continuing dilemma.

I truly believe that to write about it and talk about it is the only way to prevent it from happening again.

Your race has suffered the greatest wrong that has ever been inflicted on any continent.

The Negro is essentially the child of the moment and his memory, both tribal and individual, is very short

The eight men who are survivors of the syphilis study at Tuskegee are a living link to a time not so very long ago that many Americans would prefer not to remember, but we dare not forget. It was a time when our nation failed to live up to its ideals, when our nation broke the trust with our people that is the very foundation of our democracy. It is not only in remembering that shameful past that we can make amends and repair our nation, but it is in remembering that past that we can build a better present and a better future. And without remembering it, we cannot make amends and we cannot go forward…. The United States government did something that was wrong—deeply, profoundly, morally wrong. It was an outrage to our commitment to integrity and equality for all our citizens.

… willingness to face an ugly truth and say, “Never Again”.

With 'Underground,' we see that the wounds that we all, as a nation, inflicted upon our brothers and sisters during slavery have not been healed.

The Holocaust of Nazi Germany is certainly no less of a historic crime than the Holocaust that went on for centuries against African-Americans. That process of reparations, and a truth and reconciliation discussion, was extremely helpful in the country of Germany, and we need to have that here.

But on this 50th anniversary of the Little Rock crisis, it is important to remember that this evil did happen in America, and that no engineered redemption can make us innocent again. And we might also remember that it is better to be chastened than innocent.

When we're talking about slavery... we're really talking about the web of relationships that exists between whites and blacks from 1619 to 1865 to now.

Every red stripe in that flag represents the black man's blood that has been shed.

A lot of people were moved to write after September 11th. It had to affect us all in a way.

America is haunted by an apparition steeped in slavery, and I wanted to remind everyone that, 'Yo, we've got to handle this.'

Race is such a contentious issue because of the painful history of racism. Race didn't create racism, but racism created race.

I didn't survive because I was stronger than others. I survived because my family and friends helped me to survive. They took my place. My job is to give them back their dignity, tell their story, and say their names.

Over and over again, I looked family members who had lost loved ones to police violence, I looked them right in the eye and told them, 'Don't worry. We will get justice for your family.'

It's only until we confront the darkness of our past that we can responsibly move forward.

There's never really been a true apology for slavery.

Trayvon exposed a lot of things. I think something positive will come out of it. It's a blessing in disguise. And he will never be forgotten.

Racism can be called our nation's own specific 'original sin.'

The history of blackness is also a history of erasure.