Quote by Malcolm X, Message to the Grass

If I have a cup of coffee that is too strong for me because it is too black, I weaken it by pouring cream into it. I integrate it with cream. If I keep pouring enough cream in the coffee, pretty soon the entire flavor of the coffee is changed; the very nature of the coffee is changed. If enough cream is poured in, eventually you don't even know that I had coffee in this cup. This is what happened with the March on Washington. The whites didn't integrate it; they infiltrated it. Whites joined it; they engulfed it; they became so much a part of it, it lost its original flavor. It ceased to be a black march; it ceased to be militant; it ceased to be angry; it ceased to be impatient. In fact, it ceased to be a march.

If I have a cup of coffee that is too strong for me because

Summary

This quote highlights the concept of integration and infiltration by using the analogy of a cup of strong coffee being weakened by pouring cream into it. By comparing it to the March on Washington, the speaker argues that the presence and influence of white individuals in the march took away its original essence. The quote suggests that integration, rather than truly incorporating different perspectives and creating harmony, can dilute and transform the nature of a movement or cause. It implies that the fierce, militant, and impatient aspects of the black march were compromised by the overwhelming presence of white individuals.

Topics

Coffee (or Tea)

By Malcolm X, Message to the Grass

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