Eyes on the Prize Quotes

“I was born into a segregated system, and I took it for granted. Nobody told me any different. It really wasn’t until I got to Washington that I began to realize how much at variance the South was from the rest of the country and how very wrong the system was. So when I came back to Montgomery, in 1951, after almost twenty years, I no longer took the system for granted.”
― Juan Williams, Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965

“King’s first uses of the nonviolent method were based more on the Bible and Christian pacifism than on the teachings of the Mahatma. As both sides of the boycott dug in for what looked like a protracted battle, King preached the importance of meeting hate with love. For the struggle to be successful, the movement needed to win the support of morally decent and compassionate people. In the face of threats, being fired from work, or even being beaten, to react with violence would undermine the righteousness of the cause.”
― Juan Williams, Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965

“Morgan compared the movement to Mahatma Gandhi’s struggle against the British in India.”
― Juan Williams, Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965

“the experience taught me a lesson … even when we asked for justice within the segregation laws, the ‘powers that be’ were not willing to grant it. Justice and equality, I saw, would never come while segregation remained, because the basic purpose of segregation was to perpetuate injustice and inequity.”
― Juan Williams, Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965

“It was the first time in the history of Mississippi that a Negro had stood in court and pointed his finger at a white man as a killer of a Negro,” said Michigan congressman Charles Diggs, who attended the trial.”
― Juan Williams, Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965

“put back in their place.”
― Juan Williams, Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965