Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Quote
Racism is about the power of a group and in America it’s white folks who have that power. How? Well, white folks don’t get treated like shit in upper-class African-American communities and white folks don’t get denied bank loans or mortgages precisely because they are white and black juries don’t give white criminals worse sentences than black criminals for the same crime and black police officers don’t stop white folk for driving while white and black companies don’t choose not to hire somebody because their name sounds white and black teachers don’t tell white kids that they’re not smart enough to be doctors and black politicians don’t try some tricks to reduce the voting power of white folks through gerrymandering and advertising agencies don’t say they can’t use white models to advertise glamorous products because they are not considered aspirational by the mainstream.
Racism is about the power of a group and in America it’s white folks who have that power. How? Well, white folks don’t get treated like shit in upper-class African-American communities and white folks don’t get denied bank loans or mortgages precisely because they are white and black juries don’t give white criminals worse sentences than black criminals for the same crime and black police officers don’t stop white folk for driving while white and black companies don’t choose not to hire somebody because their name sounds white and black teachers don’t tell white kids that they’re not smart enough to be doctors and black politicians don’t try some tricks to reduce the voting power of white folks through gerrymandering and advertising agencies don’t say they can’t use white models to advertise glamorous products because they are not considered aspirational by the mainstream.
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About Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Born in Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria, Adichie's childhood was influenced by the aftermath of colonial rule, and the Nigerian Civil War which took the lives of both of her grandfathers. The war was the setting for her first novel and the subject of her second. Most of her works explore the themes of religion, Americanization, immigration, racism, gender, marriage, motherhood and womanhood. She was educated at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and moved to the United States at nineteen to complete her education. She first published the poetry collection Decisions in 1997, which was followed by a play, For Love of Biafra, in 1998. In less than ten years, she published eight books: novels, poems, book essays and collections, memoirs, children's books, reviews and short stories. Adichie has cited Chinua Achebe, Buchi Emecheta, Enid Blyton and other authors as inspirations. Her style juxtaposes Western and African influences, particularly focusing on her own native Igbo language and culture.
Adichie's 2009 TED Talk "The Danger of a Single Story" is one of the most viewed TED Talks of all time. Her 2012 talk "We Should All Be Feminists", was sampled by Beyoncé and featured on a tee-shirt by the French fashion house Dior in 2016. Adichie advocates using fashion as a medium to break down stereotypes and was recognised for her "Wear Nigerian Campaign" with a Shorty Award in 2018. Both her written works and public speaking encourage recognition of the diversity of humanity and the need for equality. She has received numerous academic awards, fellowships, and honourary degrees, among them a MacArthur Fellowship in 2008 and an induction into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2017.