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Derrick Bell Quotes

Derrick Bell Quotes.

Few whites are ready to actively promote civil rights for blacks.
Derrick Bell
I go to readings by fiction writers like Alice Walker, and I’m envious of the level of attention they generate.
Derrick Bell
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.
Derrick Bell
I live to harass white folks.
Derrick Bell
Slavery is, as an example of what white America has done, a constant reminder of what white America might do.
Derrick Bell
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.
Derrick Bell
Courage is a finite resource, it is exhausted by the terrors we face.
Derrick Bell
The challenge throughout has been to tell what I view as the truth about racism without causing disabling despair.
Derrick Bell
All ethical people strive to choose “right” over “easy” when confronted by situations that force them to choose one or the other.
Derrick Bell
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.
Derrick Bell
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.
Derrick Bell
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.
Derrick Bell
It appears that my worst fears have been realised: we have made progress in everything yet nothing has changed.
Derrick Bell
Power in the hands of the reformer is no less potentially corrupting than in the hands of the oppressor.
Derrick Bell
We live in a system that espouses merit, equality, and a level playing field, but exalts those with wealth, power, and celebrity, however gained.
Derrick Bell