I have seen periods of progress followed by reaction. I have seen the hopes and aspirations of Negroes rise during World War II, only to be smashed during the Eisenhower years. I am seeing the victories of the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations destroyed by Richard Nixon.
Interpretation
Progress is often met with resistance, creating cyclical patterns of hope and disappointment.
This quote by Bayard Rustin reflects on the historical context of racial progress in the United States, highlighting how moments of advancement for African Americans, such as during World War II, are often followed by setbacks due to political changes and societal reactions. Rustin observes a pattern where victories achieved by leaders like Kennedy and Johnson during the civil rights movement are undermined by subsequent administrations, underscoring the fragility of progress in the face of changing political climates.
In practice
In a speech about social justice, one could say, 'As Bayard Rustin observed, progress often faces resistance, reminding us to stay vigilant.'
Twenty-five, 30 years ago, the barometer of human rights in the United States were black people. That is no longer true. The barometer for judging the character of people in regard to human rights is now those who consider themselves gay, homosexual, lesbian.
God does not require us to achieve any of the good tasks that humanity must pursue. What God requires of us is that we not stop trying.
If we desire a society without discrimination, then we must not discriminate against anyone in the process of building this society. If we desire a society that is democratic, then democracy must become a means as well as an end.
If we desire a society of peace, then we cannot achieve such a society through violence. If we desire a society without discrimination, then we must not discriminate against anyone in the process of building this society. If we desire a society that is democratic, then democracy must become a means as well as an end.
My activism did not spring from being black...The racial injustice that was present in this country during my youth was a challenge to my belief in the oneness of the human family.
I am an opponent of war and of war preparations and an opponent of universal military training and conscription; but entirely apart from that issue, I hold that segregation in any part of the body politic is an act of slavery and an act of war.
With my early work I got eviscerated by my male professors, and so you learned to disguise your impulses, as many women have done. And thats definitely changed.
I have been ever of opinion that revolutions are not to be evaded.
All of us are driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won't do - that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be.
Let not men then in the pride of power, use the same arguments that tyrannic kings and venal ministers have used, and fallaciously assert that women ought to be subjected because she has always been so.... It is time to effect a revolution in female manners - time to restore to them their lost dignity.... It is time to separate unchangeable morals from local manners.
When enough Americans realize how rotten are the fruits of our policy of 'benign neglect,' how costly our prejudice is both in dollars and in human misery, the demand for change will be made-not for the sake of minority people, but for the sake of all of us.
Young people, when informed and empowered, when they realize that what they do truly makes a difference, can indeed change the world.
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