"History is not the past, it is the sense made in the present of the past."
This quote emphasizes that history is not merely a collection of facts about events that occurred in the past, but rather the interpretation and understanding we give to those events in the present. History serves as a tool for us to make sense of our world, providing context, patterns, and lessons that can help shape our perspective and guide our actions today. It's a reminder that history is not static, but a dynamic process shaped by our own perceptions and interpretations in each generation.
"In a democracy, every citizen is an expert on everything."
David Levering Lewis' quote emphasizes the unique nature of democracy, where each individual citizen has an inherent expertise in the governance of their society. In essence, it suggests that as citizens in a democratic system, we all have an equal say and the right to express our opinions, regardless of formal knowledge or experience in specific fields. This principle is rooted in the belief that every voice matters and should be heard, contributing to the collective wisdom that drives informed decision-making in a democracy.
"The historian's job is to sift through the debris of time and find the human drama that binds the ages together."
David Levering Lewis' quote underscores the essential role of a historian in unearthing universal themes and stories within the complexities of history. By meticulously examining historical events, artifacts, and accounts, historians uncover the underlying human experiences that transcend time periods and cultures, thus creating connections between disparate eras. This process of finding the "human drama" serves to illuminate shared human conditions, struggles, and triumphs, binding the ages together through a common thread of understanding and empathy.
"The more you learn about history, the less you feel that you understand it."
This quote by David Levering Lewis highlights the complexity and depth of historical events. As we delve deeper into studying history, we uncover a multitude of factors, perspectives, and interconnections that make each event more intricate and less straightforward to comprehend. It serves as a reminder that historical understanding is not merely about memorizing facts but also about appreciating the nuances and complexities inherent in our past.
"Great men are seldom great in their own lifetimes, but they become so with the passing of time."
The quote implies that the true greatness of individuals often isn't fully recognized or appreciated during their lifetime, but rather is understood and acknowledged as their impact endures over time. Their contributions and influence may initially be underestimated or misunderstood, but eventually, they become widely recognized for their significant impact on society or a particular field. In this way, greatness can grow and evolve with the passing of time.
I came into my teens unaware that most Americans, blacks as well as whites, were ignorant of the main facts of Negro history. And so it was the facts of other histories that I found most intriguing. I fell into a U.S. history major by chance late in my second year at Fisk University.
- David Levering Lewis
I have always been averse to theorizing about the art or craft of biography. Like Disraeli's biographer, Lord Blake, who offers the cautionary analogy of the biographical centipede unsure of her next step because of too much cerebration, I have made it my practice to let the facts find the theory.
- David Levering Lewis
The African Americans' story is one that seems to be a repeated commitment to a scenario for success and failure. With each failure, the blow is that much more traumatizing until finally one reaches a point where there is to some degree an internalization, skepticism, fatalism, and expectation that it isn't going to work.
- David Levering Lewis
The education business is a little murky because by 1900, it has been pretty well decided that a certain amount of education was required to make the system of repression work. You had to have people who showed up punctually. You had to have people who took their orders obediently and understand them fully.
- David Levering Lewis
1900 was a bit of mixed bag, it seems to me, on the one hand, because this is the year when this country becomes the premiere producer of manufactured goods. Clearly, a lot of people were making a lot of money, but it's also a time that reflects the savaging of one of the deepest depressions.
- David Levering Lewis
There was a very famous leader in Atlanta who thought that education was appropriate, but on the whole, the view was, 'If you're going to keep people down, you have to keep them ignorant. And so, nothing personal, but we just don't want to recognize the attributes that man of learning would bring. Quite threatening, those would be.'
- David Levering Lewis
Harlem was a development, a developer's dream and a place where residents had more space and more amenities than ever before. The subway reached 145th street about 1904, and it seemed that Harlem's destiny was to become largely a preserve of successful ethnics relocating and arriving. Then, overnight, the bust took place.
- David Levering Lewis
Harlem was the main chance for the east end of New York, for eastsiders, as that real estate boom that took place in the 1890s - and it was a preposterous one where people bought and sold, and everything appreciated with each sale - and eventually, of course, the house of cards would crumble.
- David Levering Lewis
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