How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph.Sentence)
Quote #1
And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. (7.4)
In MLK's vision, the changes advocated in the '60s Civil Rights Movement would be permanent and long lasting. In "I Have a Dream," he also communicated the hope for a snowball effect, with which more minority rights would continue to be protected over time. Change is no good if you revert, just like a diet is no good if you cheat on it.
Quote #2
We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. (8.4)
Unlike some other American leaders, black and white, MLK envisioned a country defined by peace and non-violence. His hero was Gandhi, the father of non-violent protest.
Quote #3
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny… (8.6)
This is a plea to stay and be part of the solution to a problem African Americans didn't deserve to have. Some African American leaders before Martin Luther King, Jr. advocated a "back to Africa " movement. According to this political philosophy, there was just too much precedent for racism in America for African Americans to survive and thrive there. MLK had the opposite view, believing that whites and African Americans had a "tied up" destiny.