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People will never fight for your freedom if you have not given evidence that you are prepared to fight for it yourself.

Bayard Rustin

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Bayard Rustin
Age: 74 †
Born: 1912
Born: January 1
Died: 1987
Died: January 1
Activist
Civil Rights Advocate
Lgbtiq+ Rights Activist
Politician
Trade Unionist
Westchester
Pennsylvania
Never
People
Prepared
Evidence
Fight
Fighting
Freedom
Given

More quotes by Bayard Rustin

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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.
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We are all one - and if we don't know it, we will learn it the hard way.
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When you're wrong, you're wrong. But when you're right, you're wrong anyhow.
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Since Israel is a democratic state surrounded by essentially undemocratic states which have sworn her destruction, those interested in democracy everywhere must support Israel's existence.
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I believe there are certain types of movements which cannot be married.
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The organizers and perpetuators of segregation are as much the enemy of America as any foreign invader.
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The real radical is that person who has a vision of equality and is willing to do those things that will bring reality closer to that vision. . .
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The only weapon we have is our bodies, and we need to tuck them in places so wheels don't turn
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If we desire a society in which men are brothers, then we must act towards one another with brotherhood. If we can build such a society, then we would have achieved the ultimate goal of human freedom.
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Bigotrys birthplace is the sinister back room of the mind where plots and schemes are hatched for the persecution and oppression of other human beings.
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Let us be enraged about injustice, but let us not be destroyed by it.
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The proof that one truly believes is in action.
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Looking back at his career, Mr. Rustin, a Quaker, once wrote: ‘The principal factors which influenced my life are 1) nonviolent tactics 2) constitutional means 3) democratic procedures 4) respect for human personality 5) a belief that all people are one.’
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Conscription for war is inconsistent with freedom of conscience, which is not merely the right to believe but to act on the degree of truth that one receives, to follow a vocation which is God-inspired and God-directed.
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To be afraid is to behave as if the truth were not true.
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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.
Bayard Rustin
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I believe in social dislocation and creative trouble.
Bayard Rustin
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The Journey of Reconciliation was organized not only to devise techniques for eliminating Jim Crow in travel, but also as a training ground for similar peaceful projects against discrimination in such major areas as employment and in the armed services.
Bayard Rustin
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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.
Bayard Rustin
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Surely, I must at all times attempt to obey the law of the state. But when the will of God and the will of the state conflict, I am compelled to follow the will of God.
Bayard Rustin