“There is no solution for the Negro through isolation,” he wrote. Instead, encouraging black people to continue moving on toward our best possibilities (instead of copying white America’s worst habits—especially its racism, extreme materialism, and militarism), King declared that “our most fruitful course is to stand firm, move forward nonviolently, accept disappointment and cling to hope.” In that same frame of mind, King added, “To guard ourselves from bitterness we need the vision to see in this generation’s ordeals the opportunity to transfigure both ourselves and American society.” (Did
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