Colin Powell Quotes

Traditionally, I have no right to talk about race. I'm white; I didn't grow up in an all-black neighborhood. But the license I see for myself is I'm a member of the world.

The white man, in his press, is going to identify me with 'hate.'

If you are going to call a film a 'black film' then you have to make a film that represents everyone that's black, which is almost impossible. That is why white films are not called white films, they are just called 'films.'

I write about race in America in hopes of undermining the notion of race in America.

I wish Americans understood that race is a social construct, even if we don't want it to be.

If I were black, I could say I'm proud. If I were Asian, I could say I'm proud. If I were any other ethnicity, I could say I'm proud, because that's how our culture is, but if I'm white and I say I'm proud, the media will go nuts.

It really upsets me that the media insists on turning 'Do the Right Thing' or 'Boyz N the Hood' into 'black films.' They are American films. They may open the window on the black experience, but they had things to say to everybody. That's why they were so successful.

Sadly, I've learnt that prejudice still exists in parts of the entertainment industry - I did an interview with a magazine once, and the journalist quite openly said they wouldn't put a black person on the front cover because the magazine wouldn't sell.

The concept of “the white community” is a monolithic concept that I do not accept.

The Southern institution of racial segregation or racial separation was the correct, self-evident truth which arose from the chaos and confusion of the Reconstruction period. Separation promotes racial harmony. It permits each race to follow its own pursuits, and its own civilization. Segregation is not discrimination

When I started, black people were either victims or they were the perpetrators; they were the boogie men who jumped out of the bushes and did terrible things to you.

White America don't get to dictate how me and Shaq talk to each other.

Unlike Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, Jackie Robinson never tried to convert himself into an acceptable black man.

Either we want to have segregation or integration. And if we don't want segregation, then we need to get rid of channels like BET and the BET Awards and the Image Awards, where you're only awarded if you're black.

I know I'm a black actor, but really, I'm an actor who happens to be black.

I am a black woman, last time I checked.

When I was growing up, all these superheroes were white. On some level, you put that out of your mind... but as you get older, you realize it's a very one-sided affair. So I'm very glad to see that these movies are becoming more diversified.

The most glaring aspect of white privilege is that when someone is described neutrally - without indicating color or ethnicity - more often than not, people will assume that the person is white. That assumption indicates an uncomfortable truth: in our society, whiteness determines humanity.

The more afraid we are of the shadow of racism, the more conscious we might become of our own unsuspected biases.

I've heard people say, 'Why do you have to do a show that's called 'Black Girls Rock'?' or 'Why is there an expression called 'black girl magic'?' You know, when you say, 'Save the dolphins,' you don't mean, 'I don't like whales.' That's just not the way it works!

A lot of the time, black people, we don't introduce ourselves as black.

I have to show off my struggle so that people accept that I'm black. No matter that every single room I go to, I'm usually the darkest person there... I kind of resent that mentality. I'm just an individual.

White fragility doesn't always manifest in overt ways; silence and withdrawal are also functions of fragility.

I'm an American, but being a black American, my experience is a particular one, my struggles have been particular.

I resent that I have to prove that I'm black.