MLK: white moderates are a stumbling block to freedom
It's Black History Month. Here's a thought to ponder from Martin Luther King:
"I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his
stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white
moderate,
- who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice;
- who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice;
- who constantly says: 'I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree
with your methods of direct action';
- who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom;
- who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to
wait for a 'more convenient season.'
Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute
misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than
outright rejection."
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.
Letter from Birmingham Jail
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