Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Quotes That Inspire and Empower

A living, breathing exemplar of feminism, Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an ideal role model. Recipient of a variety of honorary awards such as the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, she has been labeled as “mainstream”.

Her ideas are a pair of fresh eyes into social issues. Read these Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie quotes that reinforce the very ideals of feminism, race and ethnicity that she advocates.

26 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Quotes That Talk About Feminism and Racism

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Quotes on Feminism

#1. “Your feminist premise should be: I matter. I matter equally. Not ‘if only.’ Not ‘as long as.’ I matter equally. Full stop.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

#2. “If we keep seeing only men as heads of corporations, it starts to seem ‘natural’ that only men should be heads of corporations.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, We Should All Be Feminists

#3. “When we say fathers are ‘helping’, we are suggesting that child care is a mother’s territory, into which fathers valiantly venture. It is not.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

#4. “Teach her that the idea of ‘gender roles’ is absolute nonsense. Do not ever tell her that she should or should not do something because she is a girl. ‘Because you are a girl’ is never a reason for anything. Ever.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

#5. “We should not be asking whether a woman can ‘do it all’ but how best to support parents in their dual duties at work and at home.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

#6. “The value we give to ‘Mrs.’ means that marriage changes the social status of a woman but not that of a man.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

#7. “Women must be ‘covered up’ to protect men. I find this deeply dehumanizing because it reduces women to mere props used to manage the appetites of men.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Quotes on Race

#8. “Why didn’t she just ask ‘Was it the white girl or the black girl?’ ‘Because this is America. You’re supposed to pretend that you don’t notice certain things.'” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah

#9. “Why was ‘nigger’ bleeped out? I mean, ‘nigger’ is a word that exists. People use it. It is part of America. It has caused a lot of pain to people and I think it is insulting to bleep it out. It’s like being in denial. If it was used like that, then it should be represented like that. Hiding it doesn’t make it go away.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah

#10. “‘But why do we say nothing?’ Ujunwa asked. She raised her voice and looked at the others. ‘Why do we always say nothing?'” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Thing Around Your Neck

#11. “‘You look like a black American’ was his ultimate compliment, which he told her when she wore a nice dress, or when her hair was done in large braids.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Quotes on Love

#12. “‘I don’t want to be a sweetheart. I want to be the fucking love of your life,’ Curt said with a force that startled her.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah

#13. “‘You know it was love at first sight for both of us,’ he said. ‘For both of us? Is it by force? Why are you speaking for me?’ ‘I’m just stating a fact. Stop struggling.’ … ‘Yes, it’s a fact,’ she said. ‘What?’ ‘I love you.'” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah

#14. “‘Soon,’ he said in his letter. They said ‘soon’ to each other often, and ‘soon’ gave their plan the weight of something real.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah

#15. “And it’s wrong of you to think that love leaves room for nothing else. It’s possible to love something and still condescend it.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun

#16. “To love is not only to give but also to take”. ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Inspirational Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Quotes

#17. “If the sun refuses to rise we will make it rise.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun

#18. “Literature does teach us. Literature does matter. I read to be consoled, I read to be moved, I read to be reminded of grace and beauty and love but also of pain and sorrow. And all of these matter—all of these are useful lessons.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

#19. “‘Being defiant can be a good thing sometimes,’ Aunty Ifeoma said. ‘Defiance is like marijuana―it is not a bad thing when it is used right.'” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Purple Hibiscus

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Quotes on Novels and Writing

#20. “Why did people ask ‘What is it about?’ as if a novel had to be about only one thing.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah

#21. “Be a full person. Your child will benefit from that. Marlene Sanders once gave this piece of advice to a younger journalist: ‘Never apologize for working. You love what you do, and loving what you do is a great gift to give to your child.'” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Quotes on Personal Experience

#22. “‘I will advise you to wait until you are at least in the university, wait until you own yourself a little more. Do you understand?’ ‘Yes,’ Ifemelu said. She did not know what ‘own yourself a little more’ meant.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah

#23. “She will listen to BBC radio and hear the accounts of the deaths and the riots―’religious with undertones of ethnic tension’ the voice will say. And she will fling the radio to the wall and a fierce red rage will run through her at how it has all been packaged and sanitized and made to fit into so few words, all those bodies.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Thing Around Your Neck

Other Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Quotes

#24. “Before, she would have said, ‘I know,’ that peculiar American expression that professed agreement rather than knowledge.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah

#25. “He said ‘see’ as if it meant something more than what one did with one’s eyes.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Thing Around Your Neck

#26. “He turned to her and said, ‘About time,’ when the train finally creaked in, with the familiarity strangers adopt with each other after sharing in the disappointment of a public service.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah

Conclusion

Despite facing opposition, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie continues to inspire. Her TED talk is especially inspiring as it implies that there’s much more to explore than a single constricted train of thought. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie quotes remind us that it is important to believe in something, anything, everything. And to keep going. No matter what.

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