Whitney M. Young Quotes

• It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.

  Whitney M. Young

  Inspirational, Opportunity, African American

  "Independent Lens: The Powerbroker: Whitney Young's Fight for Civil Rights". TV Series, 2013.

  157 Copy quote

• Every man is our brother, and every man’s burden is our own. Where poverty exists, all are poorer. Where hate flourishes, all are corrupted. Where injustice reins, all are unequal.

  Whitney M. Young

  Brother, Hate, Men

  "Independent Lens (The Powerbroker: Whitney Young's Fight for Civil Rights)". TV Series, www.imdb.com. February 18, 2013.

  145 Copy quote

• I am not anxious to be the loudest voice or the most popular. But I would like to think that at a crucial moment, I was an effective voice of the voiceless, an effective hope of the hopeless.

  Whitney M. Young

  Thinking, Voice, Hopeless

  "Independent Lens (The Powerbroker: Whitney Young's Fight for Civil Rights)". TV Series, www.imdb.com. February 18, 2013.

  132 Copy quote

• Black Power simply means: Look at me, I'm here. I have dignity. I have pride. I have roots. I insist, I demand that I participate in those decisions that affect my life and the lives of my children. It means that I am somebody.

  Whitney M. Young

  Children, Mean, Pride

  "Character: Whitney Young". "Independent Lens", TV Series, www.imdb.com. (1999– ).

  146 Copy quote

• You can holler, protest, march, picket and demonstrate, but somebody must be able to sit in on the strategy conferences and plot a course. There must be strategies, the researchers, the professionals to carry out the program. That's our role.

  Whitney M. Young

  Plot, Roles, Able

  112 Copy quote

• Support the strong, give courage to the timid, remind the indifferent, and warn the opposed.

  Whitney M. Young

  Courage, Strong, Giving

  "Character: Whitney Young". "Independent Lens ", TV Series (1999– ). "The Powerbroker: Whitney Young's Fight for Civil Rights", www.imdb.com. 2013.

  79 Copy quote

• Black is beautiful when it is a slum kid studying to enter college, when it is a man learning new skills for a new job, or a slum mother battling to give her kids a chance for a better life. But white is beautiful, too, when it helps change society to make our system work for black people also. White is ugly when it oppresses blacks-and so is black ugly when black people exploit other blacks. No race has a monopoly on vice or virtue, and the worth of an individual is not related to the color of his skin.

  Whitney M. Young

  Beautiful, Mother, Jobs

  Whitney M. Young (1969). “Beyond Racism: Building an Open Society”

  105 Copy quote

• Stretch your mind and fly.

  Whitney M. Young

  Mind, Mindfulness

  49 Copy quote

• The unhealthy gap between what we preach in America and what we often practice creates a moral dry rot that eats at the very foundation of our democratic ideals and values.

  Whitney M. Young

  Practice, Democratic Ideals, America

  Whitney M. Young (1964). “To be equal”

  63 Copy quote

• No race has a monopoly on vice or virtue, and the worth of an individual is not related to the color of his skin.

  Whitney M. Young

  Race, Color, Black History

  Whitney M. Young (1969). “Beyond Racism: Building an Open Society”

  70 Copy quote

• You don’t get black power by chanting it. You get it by doing what the other groups have done. The Irish kept quiet. They didn’t shout “Irish Power”, “Jew Power”, [or] “Italian Power”. They kept their mouths shut and took over the police department of New York City, and the mayorship of Boston.

  Whitney M. Young

  New York, Italian, Cities

  ""Independent Lens/ The Powerbroker: Whitney Young's Fight for Civil Rights"". Documentary, www.imdb.com. 2013.

  98 Copy quote

• The danger is that people may mistake what is basically a change in vocabulary for a change in behavior, practices, and attitudes. While practically all Americans have learned to talk inoffensively, not enough have learned to think differently, nor act positively.

  Whitney M. Young

  Attitude, Mistake, Thinking

  Whitney M. Young (1964). “To be equal”

  68 Copy quote

• The hardest work in the world is being out of work.

  Whitney M. Young

  Work, Unemployment, World

  "Independent Lens. The Powerbroker: Whitney Young's Fight for Civil Rights". Documentary, www.imdb.com. 2013.

  136 Copy quote

• We create an environment where it is alright to hate, to steal, to cheat, and to lie if we dress it up with symbols of respectability, dignity and love.

  Whitney M. Young

  Love, Hate, Lying

  Whitney M. Young (1964). “To be equal”

  48 Copy quote

• Liberalism seems to be related to the distance people are from the problem.

  Whitney M. Young

  Distance, People, Problem

  38 Copy quote

• Our ability to create has outreached our ability to use wisely the products of our invention.

  Whitney M. Young

  Use, Invention, Ability

  Whitney M. Young (1964). “To be equal”

  27 Copy quote

• Black is beautiful when it is a slum kid studying to enter college, when it is a man learning new skills for a new job. . . .

  Whitney M. Young

  Beautiful, Jobs, Children

  Whitney M. Young (1969). “Beyond Racism: Building an Open Society”

  38 Copy quote

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