“Our Negro problem, therefore, is not of the Negro's making. No group in our population is less responsible for its existence. But every group is responsible for its continuance.... Both races need to understand that their rights and duties are mutual and equal and their interests in the common good are idential.... There is no help or healing in apparaising past responsibilities or in present apportioning of praise or blame. The past is of value only as it aids in understanding the present; and an understanding of the facts of the problem--a magnanimous understanding by both races--is the first step toward its solution.”

Isabel Wilkerson

Isabel Wilkerson - “Our Negro problem, therefore, is not...” 1

Similar quotes

“Every profession bears the responsibility to understand the circumstances that enable its existence.”

Robert Gutman
Read more

“When both the inner man and woman takes responsibility for themselves and lives their own truth, a joy and love begins to flow naturally between them. Through understanding both the inner man and woman, we understand that outer relationships simply mirror the relationship between our inner man and woman. This understanding gives us the opportunity to take conscious responsibility for our choices and our further steps towards spiritual maturity.”

Swami Dhyan Giten
Read more

“I'm very good at the past. It's the present I can't understand.”

Nick Hornby
Read more

“The present is the past rolled up for action, and the past is the present unrolled for understanding.”

Ariel Durant
Read more

“I'm a bad man. I need to understand the past. It illuminates the present.”

Glen Cook
Read more