For years now I have heard the word "wait." It rings in the ear of every Negro with a piercing familiarity. This "wait" has almost always meant "never."
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the frustration of being told to wait for equality and justice, suggesting that waiting often leads to inaction and unfulfilled promises.
Martin Luther King Jr. highlights the deep sense of impatience and disillusionment within the African American community regarding the continuous demand to wait for justice and civil rights. He argues that the word 'wait' has historically implied a denial of rights and a postponement of dignity, perpetuating a cycle where progress feels impossible, thus empowering his call for immediate action against racial injustice.
In practice
Use this quote in a speech about civil rights activism to emphasize the importance of immediate action.
This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love.
Music is the best consolation for a despaired man
We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love.
We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.
Israel... is one of the great outpost of democracy in the world
One of the greatest casualties of the war in Vietnam is the Great Society... shot down on the battlefield of Vietnam.
Sadie Kane here. If you're listening to this, congratulations, you survived doomsday.
What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog.
The warrior knows that he is free to choose his desires, and he makes these decisions with courage, detachment, and - sometimes - with just a touch of madness.
Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.
Who are your favourite heroines in real life? The women of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran who risk their lives and their beauty to defy the foulness of theocracy. Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Azar Nafisi as their ideal feminine model.
Demons run when a good man goes to war. Night will fall and drown the sun when a good man goes to war. Friendship dies and true love lies. Night will fall and the dark will rise when a good man goes to war. Demons run but count the cost; the battle's won but the child is lost.
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