"It is interesting to notice that the extreme pessimist and the extreme optimist agree on at least one point. They both feel that we must sit down and do nothing in the area of race relations. The extreme optimist says do nothing because integration is inevitable. The extreme pessimist says do nothing because integration is impossible. But there is a third attitude that can be taken, namely the realistic position. The realist in this area seeks to combine the truths of two opposites, while avoiding the extremes of both, and so the realist would agree with the optimist that we have come a long, long way in grappling with this problem, but he would balance that by agreeing with the pessimist that we have a long, long way to go before the problem is solved in the United States. And it is this realistic position that I would like to use as a basis for our thinking together as we think of progress and as we think of the future of integration."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Activists from the United StatesSpiritual teachersCivil rights activistsAnti-apartheid activistsAnti-racism activists
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Martin Luther King Jr.
pastor, preacher, civil rights advocate
1929 – 1968 · United States
523 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Martin Luther King Jr. →
Related Quotes
"The means by which we live have outdistanced the ends for which we live. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritua…"
"Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a desc…"
"We must set out to do a good job irrespective of race. We must seek to do our life's work so well that nobody could d…"
"The meaning of this story is not found in the drowning of the Egyptian soldiers, for no one should rejoice at the dea…"
"Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illumina…"
"There are certain things in our nation and in the world which I am proud to be maladjusted and which I hope all men o…"
"One of the sure signs of maturity is the ability to rise to the point of self criticism."
"Doors are opening now that were not open in the past, and the great challenge facing minority groups is to be ready t…"
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at ti…"
"The third way open to oppressed people in their quest for freedom is the way of nonviolent resistance. Like the synth…"