--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everything now, we must assume, is in our…" description: "\"Everything now, we must assume, is in our hands; we have no right to assume otherwise. If we do not falter in our duty now, we may be able, handful tha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/james-a-baldwin-2080_able_everything-now-we-must-assume-is-in-our_3226562.jpg" --- # Everything now, we must assume, is in our hands; we have… ![“Everything now, we must assume, is in our hands; we have no right to assume otherwise. If we do not falter in our duty now, we may be able, handful that we are, to end the racial nightmare, and achieve our country, and change the history of the world.” quote by James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/james-a-baldwin-2080_able_everything-now-we-must-assume-is-in-our_3226562.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/james-a-baldwin-2080_able_everything-now-we-must-assume-is-in-our_3226562.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/james-a-baldwin-2080_able_everything-now-we-must-assume-is-in-our_3226562.jpg) > “Everything now, we must assume, is in our hands; we have no right to assume otherwise. If we do not falter in our duty now, we may be able, handful that we are, to end the racial nightmare, and achieve our country, and change the history of the world.” [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Responsibility lies with individuals to act against injustice, shaping history through collective effort. **In simple terms:** We must act now to change the world. Key Takeaway Take decisive action against injustice. Themes responsibility justice history collective action Mood determined urgent Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - activism - policy advocacy - community organizing Key Concepts civil rights moral duty social change Questions to Reflect On - What concrete steps can you take today? - How can collective action amplify impact? A Different Perspective Individual effort alone may not overcome systemic oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Nightmare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightmare/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-history/) ## Related quotes > [The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-only-obligation-which-i-have-a-right-to-assume-is-to-do-at-any/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [No one has the right to not assume that the business cycle will turn! 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Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-j-fleming/) > [End racial and ethnic gerrymandering, stop voter I.D. laws that seek to suppress voters of color, and make sure everyone can add their voice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beto-o-rourke/end-racial-and-ethnic-gerrymandering-stop-voter-i-d-laws-that-seek-to/) [Beto O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beto-o-rourke/) > [The extraordinary nature of individual black achievement in formerly white domain certainly does suggest that the old Jim Crow is dead, but it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-extraordinary-nature-of-individual-black-achievement-in-formerly/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was Dostoevsky and Dickens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/you-think-your-pain-and-your-heartbreak-are-unprecedented-in-the/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [You don't need numbers; you need passion, and this is proven by the history of the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/you-don-t-need-numbers-you-need-passion-and-this-is-proven-by-the/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [You think your pains and heartbreaks are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. \[and then you discover that others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/you-think-your-pains-and-heartbreaks-are-unprecedented-in-the-history/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) ## More by James A. Baldwin > [One cannot deny the humanity of another without diminishing one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/one-cannot-deny-the-humanity-of-another-without-diminishing-one-s-own/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [All I know about music is that not many people ever really hear it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/all-i-know-about-music-is-that-not-many-people-ever-really-hear-it/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [I've always believed that you can think positive just as well as you can think negative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/i-ve-always-believed-that-you-can-think-positive-just-as-well-as-you/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [The white man discovered the Cross by way of the Bible, but the black man discovered the Bible by way of the Cross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/the-white-man-discovered-the-cross-by-way-of-the-bible-but-the-black/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [The American ideal of sexuality appears to be rooted in the American ideal of masculinity. This idea has created cowboys and Indians, good guys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/the-american-ideal-of-sexuality-appears-to-be-rooted-in-the-american/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [Voyagers discover that the world can never be larger than the person that is in the world; but it is impossible to foresee this,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/voyagers-discover-that-the-world-can-never-be-larger-than-the-person/) [James A. 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Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) [Explore all 187 James A. Baldwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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