Richard Wright Quotes

In various countries and times, leaders of groups that lagged behind, economically and educationally, have taught their followers to blame all their problems on other people - and to hate those other people.

We need to start looking at some of the root causes of division. And one of the reasons why people are exploited to hate, to fear others is that people are afraid in their own lives.

I don't know how racists live with their racism. We need to take the road of love. I don't think folks are born that way; it's learned and taught out of fear.

Everybody's scared for their ass. There aren't too many people ready to die for racism. They'll kill for racism but they won't die for racism.

People would write me hate letters. How dare I try to represent Hispanics when I was so white? I tried to make them see it was racism.

Too many people hate the people that AIDS most affects: gay people and people of color. I do not mean dislike, or feel uncomfortable with. I mean hate. Downright hate. Down and dirty hate.

In a world filled with hate, prejudice, and protest, I find that I too am filled with hate, prejudice, and protest.

It's not anthrax or terrorism or AIDS that is the worst ill in our world: The most horrible disease in the world is hate.

Racism and injustice and violence sweep our world, bringing a tragic harvest of heartache and death.

Any deviation is looked upon as a perversion, is feared, and is usually a target of hatred and prejudice.

It was impossible to reason with a negro-that the only way to keep him in his place was to keep him under fear.

You've got to be taught to hate and fear.

Evil is the shadow of angel. Just as there are angels of light, support, guidance, healing and defense, so we have experiences of shadow angels. And we have names for them: racism, sexism, homophobia are all demons - but they're not out there.

One of the worst things about racism is what it does to young people.

In any society, fanatics who hate don't hate only me - they hate you, too. They hate everybody.

Certainly I was a bully. I'm not ashamed of it at all. The hostility of the establishment to what you were able to do in the Forties and Fifties was very strong. Sometimes you have to fight against your society.

If anyone wants to abuse other people for whatever colour, race or creed they are, then it's just stupidness, isn't it?

Hate menaces stable government …

If they come for me in the morning, they will come for you at night.

The Irish hate our order, our civilization, our enterprising industry, our pure religion. This wild, reckless, indolent, uncertain, and superstitious race have no sympathy with the English character …. Their history describes an unbroken circle of bigotry and blood.

Racism is a disease which devalues the victim and corrupts the perpetrator.

The two things I feared as a boy most were rattlesnakes and white people.

Color had been made the mark of enslavement and was taken to be also the mark of inferiority; for prejudice does not reason, or it would not be prejudice

Racism is the greatest cancer of my lifetime.

I hate prejudice of any kind, whether it be color or sexual preference.