"This... there's nothing more difficult than this. Because we have really, truly good white people in important positions. And the fact of the matter is that there are a limited number of those positions. And unless we are conscious of the need to have more people of color, gays, other people in those positions we will not change the problem. We're in a position where you have to say who is going to step down so someone else can have power"
About this Quote
The phrase "limited number of those positions" turns representation into a zero-sum field, and that’s the point. Diversity talk often floats in the language of inclusion, as if institutions can simply add people without anyone feeling loss. Lloyd refuses that comfort. His subtext is that racism and exclusion are structural because they’re enforced by scarcity: prestige jobs, gatekeeping roles, and decision-making authority don’t multiply on command. When he says "unless we are conscious", he’s indicting the default setting of institutions: they reproduce themselves unless interrupted.
The most provocative move comes at the end: "who is going to step down". That’s a deliberate escalation from abstract principle to personal consequence. It reframes equity from a moral posture to a material cost, forcing listeners to confront whether they want change as an aspiration or as an actual trade.
Contextually, this reads like an insider diagnosing governance and media-adjacent institutions where hiring, appointments, and promotions often follow networks that look meritocratic from the inside and exclusionary from the outside. Lloyd isn’t asking for guilt; he’s asking for surrender of monopoly.
Quote Details
| Topic | Equality |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Lloyd, Mark. (2026, January 16). This... there's nothing more difficult than this. Because we have really, truly good white people in important positions. And the fact of the matter is that there are a limited number of those positions. And unless we are conscious of the need to have more people of color, gays, other people in those positions we will not change the problem. We're in a position where you have to say who is going to step down so someone else can have power. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/this-theres-nothing-more-difficult-than-this-92424/
Chicago Style
Lloyd, Mark. "This... there's nothing more difficult than this. Because we have really, truly good white people in important positions. And the fact of the matter is that there are a limited number of those positions. And unless we are conscious of the need to have more people of color, gays, other people in those positions we will not change the problem. We're in a position where you have to say who is going to step down so someone else can have power." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/this-theres-nothing-more-difficult-than-this-92424/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"This... there's nothing more difficult than this. Because we have really, truly good white people in important positions. And the fact of the matter is that there are a limited number of those positions. And unless we are conscious of the need to have more people of color, gays, other people in those positions we will not change the problem. We're in a position where you have to say who is going to step down so someone else can have power." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/this-theres-nothing-more-difficult-than-this-92424/. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
