Marian Wright Edelman Quotes
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A lot of people are waiting for Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi to come back - but they are gone. We are it. It is up to us. It is up to you.
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I hadn't planned on going to law school. I wanted to study 19th-century Russian literature.
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As [Martin Luther] King said, it never cost anybody a dime to integrate the lunch counters. When you start talking about trying to deal with jobs and hunger and things that require investment, then that's really the tough stuff, because everybody wants to do right if it doesn't cost them anything.
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[Martin Luther ] King didn't pick his leadership position. Most movements are not started by single people.
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It is time for every one of us to roll up our sleeves and put ourselves at the top of our commitment list.
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Don't assume a door is closed; push on it. Don't assume if it was closed yesterday that it is closed today. Don't ever stop learning and improving your mind. If you do, you're going to be left behind.
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I wasn't thinking about history. I was thinking about how we were going to end segregation at lunch counters in Atlanta, Georgia.We would have never thought about making history, we just thought: Here is our chance to get out our sense of rejection at this kind of racial discrimination. I don't know that there was a time that anybody growing up in the South wasn't enraged about being segregated and being discriminated against.
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God, please help us remember that all the darkness in the world cannot snuff out the light of one little candle. Help us to keep lighting our little candles until a mighty torch of justice sweeps our nation and the world.
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In every seed of good there is always a piece of bad.
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If you don't like the way the world is, you change it. You have an obligation to change it. You just do it one step at a time.
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You just need to be a flea against injustice. Enough committed fleas biting strategically can make even the biggest dog uncomfortable and transform even the biggest nation.
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Education remains one of the black community's most enduring values. It is sustained by the belief that freedom and education go hand in hand, that learning and training are essential to economic quality and independence.
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Why are guns the only unregulated consumer products in America? We regulate toy guns and teddy bears, but we do not regulate a product that kills 4,600 children a year.
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I grew up in a very religious family and it is the motivating force to every thing I do. I am fortunate to have had adults all around me who really lived their faith, in helping other people and doing the best you can do.
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No time is ever wasted if you have a book along as a companion.
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You'd better stay determined, because that's how our ancestors got us where we are.
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We must serve consciously as caring role models, emphasizing the ethic of service, not consumption.
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You just do it one step at a time.
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The question is not whether we can afford to invest in every child; it is whether we can afford not to.
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Justice is not cheap. Justice is not quick. It is not ever finally achieved.
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In trying to make a big difference, don't ignore the small daily differences we can make.
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It is utterly exhausting being Black in America - physically, mentally, and emotionally. While many minority groups and women feel similar stress, there is no respite or escape from your badge of color.
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Don't just dream about grandiose acts of doing good. Every day do small ones, that add up over time to positive patterns.
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As I contemplate the kind of future I want for children-my own and other people's-I believe we must look inward to God for guidance and strength and backward to draw on the values and legacies of our families, ancestors, and communities.