“Negro is an interesting word. This country couldn’t call us Africans, because if it had, we would have understood some things about ourselves. We would not have been this “Negro America”, constantly enslaved even after slavery. It would have given us a sense of continuity. So, they had to say 'colored' and 'Negro' and 'nigger' to keep us in our place- to remind us that we were only from this country.” ~Sonia Sanchez