colonialism Quotes
The African is my brother but he is my younger brother by several centuries.
"The African is my brother but he is my younger brother by several centuries."— Albert Schweitzer
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Meaning of this quote
The remark combines a claim of brotherhood with a colonial assumption of racial hierarchy.
Key takeaway:
Read the statement critically and affirm equal human dignity without a hierarchy of peoples.
Origin of the quote
The Observer (23 October 1955), cited in Schweitzer quotation references
Who actually said this?
This variant is cited to The Observer, 23 October 1955. Related paternalistic language occurs in On the Edge of the Primeval Forest, but the exact “several centuries” formulation is not established from that book.
