On being denied a scholarship due to her race in “Sculptor Augusta Savage’s Towering Impact on the Harlem Renaissance” in Artnet (2019 Apr 5)
“

I hear so many complaints to the effect that Negroes do not take advantage of the educational opportunities offered them. Well, one of the reasons why more of my race do not go in for higher education is that as soon as one of us gets his head above the crowd there are millions of feet ready to crush it back again to that dead level of commonplace thus creating a racial deadline of culture in our Republic. For how am I to compete with other American artists if I am not to be given the same opportunity?

— Augusta Savage

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I hear so many complaints to the effect that Negroes do not take advantage of the educational opportunities offered them. Well, one of the reasons why more of my race do not go in for higher education is that as soon as one of us gets his head above the crowd there are millions of feet ready to crush it back again to that dead level of commonplace thus creating a racial deadline of culture in our Republic. For how am I to compete with other American artists if I am not to be given the same opportunity?" in the context of "On being denied a scholarship due to her race in “Sculptor Augusta Savage’s Towering Impact on the Harlem Renaissance” in Artnet (2019 Apr 5)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Augusta Savage" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Augusta Savage

About Augusta Savage

Augusta Savage (February 29, 1892 – March 27, 1962) was an African-American sculptor associated with the Harlem Renaissance.