Black Fatigue Quotes

“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept. —Angela Davis, American political activist, philosopher, academic, Marxist feminist, and author”
― Mary-Frances Winters, Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit

“Black women are stereotyped as “workers” and have internalized this characterization by overachieving, self-sacrificing, and neglecting our health and dismissing the need for self-care. Black women must unapologetically prioritize rest as a part of the movement toward equity and liberation.”
― Mary-Frances Winters, Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit

“many of us earnestly believe that it is our purpose to serve those in need, to give back, to share, to sacrifice, to care as much about others as we do ourselves, all without complaint and as best as possible, without letting the fatigue imperil us.”
― Mary-Frances Winters, Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit

“The psychiatric definition of “drapetomania” (“runaway slave syndrome”) was created as a “diagnosis” for African slaves who fled their slave masters. The treatment was often amputation of extremities.”
― Mary-Frances Winters, Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit

“Medical experts report that being socially rejected, experiencing stereotypes, and suffering discrimination trigger the same neural circuits that process physical injury and translate it into the experience we call pain.13”
― Mary-Frances Winters, Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit

“Start with the premise that all parents care about their children’s education and all children can learn. If they are not learning, there is something wrong with the system, not the children.”
― Mary-Frances Winters, Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit

“Corporations should fund public education.”
― Mary-Frances Winters, Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit

“It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have. —James Baldwin,”
― Mary-Frances Winters, Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit

“Our lives have no meaning, no depth without the white gaze. And I have spent my entire writing life trying to make sure that the white gaze was not the dominant one in any of my books. —Toni Morrison, American novelist, essayist, book editor, and college professor”
― Mary-Frances Winters, Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit

“This is what I call sublime (defined as “elevated and exalted”) ignorance. When many Black people hear stories like this, we do not know whether to scream, cry, or laugh. How could you not know that racism is alive and well in America and throughout the world? The truth is that white people are not required to know. As the dominant group, they can go through life with the privilege of never thinking about their race. Many white people still claim not to “see” race. If you do not see it, there is no reason to address it. You can be sublimely ignorant.”
― Mary-Frances Winters, Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit

“These experiences can lead to internalized oppression, which is when we believe the negative stereotypes about our group that have been perpetuated by the dominant group. I think internalized oppression is more common than we know because there is little research on its widespread impact on feelings of self-doubt, its erosion of self-esteem and self-worth, and its generation of helplessness and hopelessness. Internalized oppression generated by systemic racism can lead to a feeling of needing constantly to be on guard and increase stress levels.”
― Mary-Frances Winters, Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit