Derrick Bell Quotes

Few whites are ready to actively promote civil rights for blacks.

I go to readings by fiction writers like Alice Walker, and I’m envious of the level of attention they generate.

My wife says I spend my life trying to teach white folks. I’m not so sure I’m proud of it, but she’s right.

I live to harass white folks.

Slavery is, as an example of what white America has done, a constant reminder of what white America might do.

However self-sufficient we may fancy ourselves, we exist only in relation – to our friend, family, and life partners; to those we teach and mentor; to our coworkers, neighbors, strangers; and even to forces we cannot fully conceive of, let alone define. In many ways, we are our relationships.

Courage is a finite resource, it is exhausted by the terrors we face.

The challenge throughout has been to tell what I view as the truth about racism without causing disabling despair.

All ethical people strive to choose “right” over “easy” when confronted by situations that force them to choose one or the other.

Self-esteem is like a difficult-to-cultivate flower. It requires frequent nurturing that occurs when you keep your word and follow through on your promises.

Resistance is a powerful motivator precisely because it enables us to fulfill our longing to achieve our goals while letting us boldly recognize and name the obstacles to those achievements.

A rule without exceptions is an instrument capable of doing mischief to the innocent and bringing grief – as well as injustice – to those who should gain exemptions from the rule’s functioning.

It appears that my worst fears have been realised: we have made progress in everything yet nothing has changed.

Power in the hands of the reformer is no less potentially corrupting than in the hands of the oppressor.

We live in a system that espouses merit, equality, and a level playing field, but exalts those with wealth, power, and celebrity, however gained.