“In fact, Martin, if you have desegregated anything by your efforts, kindly enlighten me.”
“Well,” King replied, “I guess about the only thing I've desegregated so far is a few human hearts.”

-- from a conversation between NAACP Executive Secretary Roy Wilkins and the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., in the (I believe) early 1960s, as recounted in Taylor Branch's seminal “Parting the Waters: America in the King Years.” The NAACP, remember, was not initially a fan of King and the SCLC. The former wanted to go through the courts, while King, after the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and then after a several-years pause, chose nonviolent direct action. There was probably also jealousy involved. I've always loved this quote because it's such a lovely and true sentiment that is also a lovely and true response to someone obviously trying to provoke him. It's also the underestimated portion of what leaders do. They can make us better or they can make us worse. I came across it in an old notebook and wanted to get it down here, since, unfortunately, we're all here now.