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Remarking on race in 2017
People fly into the air as a vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. The nationalists were holding the rally to protest plans by the city of Charlottesville to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. There were several hundred protesters marching in a long line when the car drove into a group of them. (Ryan M. Kelly/The Daily Progress via AP)
Memorable quotations in the continuing saga of how we get along, 2017 edition:
“It’s hard to go to class and constantly hear racial slurs and jokes thrown around. It’s really hard.”
» Arryanna Dixon, a senior at Dunwoody High School, talking about race relations at the school after news broke of a group photo of the cheerleading squad in which the one black cheerleader was cropped out.
» Arryanna Dixon, a senior at Dunwoody High School, talking about race relations at the school after news broke of a group photo of the cheerleading squad in which the one black cheerleader was cropped out.
“Remember: We only kill black people.”
» Cobb County police Lt. Greg Abbott, caught on video talking to a white woman at a traffic stop. Abbott retired as the county was preparing to fire him.
» Cobb County police Lt. Greg Abbott, caught on video talking to a white woman at a traffic stop. Abbott retired as the county was preparing to fire him.
“You could pack it full of dynamite and blow it all the way to Lawrenceville, but you don’t want to create such a hazard. Removing a gigantic sculpture off the side of a mountain is not a trivial undertaking.”
» Ben Bentkowski, president of the Atlanta Geological Society, on removing the Confederate sculptures from Stone Mountain. .
» Ben Bentkowski, president of the Atlanta Geological Society, on removing the Confederate sculptures from Stone Mountain. .
“I’ve condemned neo-Nazis. I’ve condemned many different groups. But not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. You had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists. The press has treated them absolutely unfairly. You also had some very fine people on both sides.”
» Donald Trump, Aug. 15, defending his initial statements about who was at fault for the violence in Charlottesville on Aug. 12.
» Donald Trump, Aug. 15, defending his initial statements about who was at fault for the violence in Charlottesville on Aug. 12.
"She would never back down from what she believed in. And that's what she died doing, she died fighting for what she believed in. Heather was a sweet, sweet soul and she'll never be replaced, she'll never be forgotten.”
» Marissa Blair, a close friend of Heather Heyer, who was killed in Charlottesville when a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of demonstrators.
» Marissa Blair, a close friend of Heather Heyer, who was killed in Charlottesville when a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of demonstrators.
“He’s not out there to enforce the traffic laws. He’s out there to shake people down for drugs and money.”
» Billy Healan, attorney for NBA player Mike Scott. Scott and his brother were stopped on I-85 by a Banks County sheriff’s deputy. Scott said it was a case of racial profiling, and a local judge agreed.
» Billy Healan, attorney for NBA player Mike Scott. Scott and his brother were stopped on I-85 by a Banks County sheriff’s deputy. Scott said it was a case of racial profiling, and a local judge agreed.
“The reason I feel uncomfortable condemning the Klan types is – they are almost the poorest of the poor. They are the forgotten Americans. And, um, they have been used and abused and neglected. And they see progress in the black community and on television and everywhere and they don’t share it.”
» Andrew Young in remarks on “Meet the Press” regarding race and symbolism.
» Andrew Young in remarks on “Meet the Press” regarding race and symbolism.
Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey (credit: Toby Talbot / AP file photo)
“Jack never made whiskey. He was a businessman and a brilliant marketer. Jack never took credit for Nearest’s work. Never once.”
» Writer Fawn Weaver on the one-time slave, Nathan “Nearest” Green, who created the whiskey that Jack Daniel made famous.
» Writer Fawn Weaver on the one-time slave, Nathan “Nearest” Green, who created the whiskey that Jack Daniel made famous.
“This was Martin Luther King Jr.’s city. This is the most we have ever had and we are going to let somebody come in here and take it? But the city is corrupt. You see that at City Hall. And when the city is corrupt, what are they going to do? Send in the white folks to take over.”
» Mike Barber, an African-American resident of Atlanta, speaking in the spring on the prospect of city voters electing a white mayor this year for the first time in 43 years.
» Mike Barber, an African-American resident of Atlanta, speaking in the spring on the prospect of city voters electing a white mayor this year for the first time in 43 years.
“Our entire country would be better off if the South had won the Civil War."
» Jason Kessler, at a June 25 rally in Washington. Kessler was the main organizer of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville a month and a half later.
» Jason Kessler, at a June 25 rally in Washington. Kessler was the main organizer of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville a month and a half later.
“Legally speaking, we are American citizens, but culturally we are Latinos. So there is a separation there. We have the same experience as any other Latin American immigrant, because we have our Hispanic traditions, we speak Spanish, we conserve religious traditions.”
» Atlantan Cynthia Roman on what it’s like to be a Puerto Rican living on the U.S. mainland.
» Atlantan Cynthia Roman on what it’s like to be a Puerto Rican living on the U.S. mainland.
Emily Cruz Eng of Atlanta: “I’m insulted by it, I’m confused. Do I belong, do I not belong, in this family, in this country?” (Image captured from AJC vdieo)
“I’m insulted by it, I’m confused. Do I belong, do I not belong, in this family, in this country?”
» Emily Cruz Eng, who was adopted from Peru as an infant and raised in Atlanta by a white mother. She was explaining why asking someone “Where are you from?” may be code for “you’re not welcome here.”
» Emily Cruz Eng, who was adopted from Peru as an infant and raised in Atlanta by a white mother. She was explaining why asking someone “Where are you from?” may be code for “you’re not welcome here.”
“We’re standing here in front of a monument that glorifies white supremacy. That glorifies the men who were sent to their death for a despicable cause, and now they’re re-envisioned as heroes.”
» Trenton Nesmith, speaking at a rally in Augusta seeking to remove a towering Civil War monument in downtown Augusta.
» Trenton Nesmith, speaking at a rally in Augusta seeking to remove a towering Civil War monument in downtown Augusta.
“The 28th of August shows two sides of America. There are examples of when we were at our best and lots of people were engaged. And examples of us at our worst as a country.”
» Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin on the significance of Aug. 28, the date of Emmett Till’s murder in 1955, of the March on Washington in 1963, of the evacuation order issued in New Orleans ahead of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the day Barack Obama accepted the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, and the day, in 2017, when a new statue of Martin Luther King. Jr. was unveiled on the state Capitol grounds.
» Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin on the significance of Aug. 28, the date of Emmett Till’s murder in 1955, of the March on Washington in 1963, of the evacuation order issued in New Orleans ahead of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the day Barack Obama accepted the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, and the day, in 2017, when a new statue of Martin Luther King. Jr. was unveiled on the state Capitol grounds.
“History is being made in Memphis tonight. Within the next few hours, both the Nathan Bedford Forrest and Jefferson Davis statues will no longer stand in our city.”
» Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland on the city's decision, on Dec. 20, to sell two parks to a private entity so it could circumvent state law that opposes removing Confederate memorials from public property.
» Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland on the city's decision, on Dec. 20, to sell two parks to a private entity so it could circumvent state law that opposes removing Confederate memorials from public property.
