The actual sight of a first-class house that a Negro has built is ten times more potent than pages of discussion about a house that he ought to build, or perhaps could build.
Booker T. WashingtonRead
The wisest among my race understand that agitations of social equality is the extremist folly, and that progress in the enjoyment of all privileges that will come to us must be the result of severe and constant struggle rather than of artificial forcing.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True progress in society comes from persistent effort rather than forced equalization.
In this quote, Booker T. Washington emphasizes the importance of enduring struggle to achieve true social equality and privileges. He suggests that rather than seeking immediate but artificial equality, individuals and communities should focus on continuous effort and improvement, as this will lead to genuine progress and respect over time.
Themes
ProgressStruggleSocial EqualityWisdomPrivileges
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a presentation about social justice movements.
More from Booker T. Washington
All quotes →Leaders have devoted themselves to politics, little knowing, it seems _x000D_ that political independence disappears without economic independence _x000D_ that economic independence is the foundation of political independence.
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You go to school, you study about the Germans and the French, but not about your own race. I hope the time will come when you study black history too.
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Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.
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I shall allow no man to belittle my soul by making me hate him.
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If I have done anything in life worth attention, I feel sure that I inherited the disposition from my mother.
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