“Racism is not an excuse to not do the best you can.”

“We've got to face the fact that some people say you fight fire best with fire, but we say you put fire out best with water. We say you don't fight racism with racism. We're gonna fight racism with solidarity.”

“Of course you could do more - you can always do more, and you should do more - but still, the important things is to do what you can, whenever you can. You just do your best, and that's all you can do. Too many people use the excuse that they don't think they can do enough, so they decide they don't have to to do anything. There's never a good excuse for not doing anything - even if it's just to sign something, or send a small contribution, or invite a newly settled refugee family over for Thanksgiving.”

“Not being able to do everything is no excuse for not doing everything you can.”

“The fact that you can only do a little is no excuse for doing nothing.”

“Cynical realism—it's the intelligent man's best excuse for doing nothing in an intolerable situation”