--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Feeling that our demands were moderate, I…" description: "\"“Feeling that our demands were moderate, I had assumed that they would be granted with little question; I had believed that the privileged would give u..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fba/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_civil-rights_feeling-that-our-demands-were-moderate-i_587177.jpg" --- # Feeling that our demands were moderate, I had assumed that… ![“Feeling that our demands were moderate, I had assumed that they would be granted with little question; I had believed that the privileged would give up their privileges on request. This experience, however, taught me a lesson. I came to see that no one gives up his privileges without strong…” quote by Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fba/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_civil-rights_feeling-that-our-demands-were-moderate-i_587177.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fba/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_civil-rights_feeling-that-our-demands-were-moderate-i_587177.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fba/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_civil-rights_feeling-that-our-demands-were-moderate-i_587177.jpg) > ““Feeling that our demands were moderate, I had assumed that they would be granted with little question; I had believed that the privileged would give up their privileges on request. This experience, however, taught me a lesson. I came to see that no one gives up his privileges without strong resistance.”” [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He realized that privileged groups resist giving up advantages unless forced. **In simple terms:** Privileges aren't relinquished willingly. Key Takeaway Expect resistance when demanding change. Themes social justice power dynamics privilege Mood reflective determined Type inspirational political When to use this quote - policy reform - community organizing - education campaigns Key Concepts systemic inequality activism civil rights Questions to Reflect On - How can allies support movements without imposing? - What strategies reduce resistance? A Different Perspective Change may require sustained pressure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believed Privileged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed-privileged-4813757/) [Civil rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights/) [Civil rights movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights-movement/) [Demands Moderate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demands-moderate-4813758/) [Gives Privileges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gives-privileges-4813759/) [Moderate Assumed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moderate-assumed-4813760/) [Montgomery-bus-boycott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/montgomery-bus-boycott-124848/) [Negotiation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negotiation/) [Privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege/) [Privileges Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privileges-strong-4813761/) [Resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resistance/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [White privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-privilege/) ## Related quotes > [“We met at all hours, whenever a new emergency demanded attention. It was not unusual to find some of us talking things over in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/we-met-at-all-hours-whenever-a-new-emergency-demanded-attention-it/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“Our demands most moderate are – We only want the earth!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-connolly/our-demands-most-moderate-are-we-only-want-the-earth/) [James Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-connolly/) ## More by Martin Luther King Jr > [We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/we-have-learned-to-fly-the-air-like-birds-and-swim-the-sea-like-fish/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [I had a dreamthat you would just shut the fuck up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/i-had-a-dreamthat-you-would-just-shut-the-fuck-up/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice; say that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/yes-if-you-want-to-say-that-i-was-a-drum-major-say-that-i-was-a-drum/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/we-must-forever-conduct-our-struggle-on-the-high-plane-of-dignity-and/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/it-may-be-true-that-the-law-cannot-make-a-man-love-me-but-it-can-stop/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“Privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/privileged-groups-seldom-give-up-their-privileges-voluntarily/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [God has set the type of marriage everywhere throughout the creation. Every creature seeks its perfection in another. The very heavens and earth picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/god-has-set-the-type-of-marriage-everywhere-throughout-the-creation/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [A nation that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/a-nation-that-continues-to-produce-soft-minded-men-purchases-its-own/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“It is not enough to say, 'We must not wage war.' It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/it-is-not-enough-to-say-we-must-not-wage-war-it-is-necessary-to-love/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“When, for decades, you have been able to make a man compromise his manhood by threatening him with a cruel and unjust punishment, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/when-for-decades-you-have-been-able-to-make-a-man-compromise-his/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-question-is-not-whether-we-will-be-extremists-but-what-kind-of/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“Deep in our history of struggle for freedom, Canada was the North star”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/deep-in-our-history-of-struggle-for-freedom-canada-was-the-north-star/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“And he's allowed me to go to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the promised land! I may not get there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/and-he-s-allowed-me-to-go-to-the-mountain-and-i-ve-looked-over-and-i/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/we-know-through-painful-experience-that-freedom-is-never-voluntarily/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/returning-hate-for-hate-multiplies-hate-adding-deeper-darkness-to-a/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) [Explore all 219 Martin Luther King Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) ## More Civil rights quotes > [Every one knows that the exercise of military power is forever dangerous to civil rights; and we have had recent instances of violences that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/every-one-knows-that-the-exercise-of-military-power-is-forever/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-for-freedom-of-religion-and-against-all-maneuvers-to-bring-about/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I speak not for myself, but so those without a voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights. Their right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/i-speak-not-for-myself-but-so-those-without-a-voice-can-be-heard/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [The Patriot Act is certainly a concern; all of those things are dangerous. I think more important than me preaching is that we as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-patriot-act-is-certainly-a-concern-all-of-those-things-are/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [American civil rights leader, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Lynching is a murder. For the past four hundred years our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/american-civil-rights-leader-where-do-we-go-from-here-chaos-or/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“Why do we apologize for advocating for ourselves? Why do we apologize for taking up space that we are entitled to? Why do we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-tambascio/why-do-we-apologize-for-advocating-for-ourselves-why-do-we-apologize/) [Elizabeth Tambascio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-tambascio/) > [We are a nation of innovators and problem-solvers who sparked revolutions in democratic government, civil rights, communications, flight, rural electrification and technology. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-a-mcchrystal/we-are-a-nation-of-innovators-and-problem-solvers-who-sparked/) [Stanley A. McChrystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-a-mcchrystal/) > [“Mental illness is not something you misunderstand in this era. Get educated because bias is no different than racism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/mental-illness-is-not-something-you-misunderstand-in-this-era-get/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Civil rights leaders are involved in helping poor people. That's what I've been doing all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/civil-rights-leaders-are-involved-in-helping-poor-people-that-s-what/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [I grew up in the early '60s, and there was a lot of civil rights, a lot of unrest in our country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herm-edwards/i-grew-up-in-the-early-60s-and-there-was-a-lot-of-civil-rights-a-lot/) [Herm Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herm-edwards/) > [The great paradox of the civil rights revolution is that instead of enforcing and expanding equality before the law, the revolution created differential rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-great-paradox-of-the-civil-rights-revolution-is-that-instead-of/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [The world - and America - has been defined by people who haven't necessarily abided by the laws and the rules. Civil disobedience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-kennedy/the-world-and-america-has-been-defined-by-people-who-haven-t/) [Rory Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-kennedy/) > [I do not believe that defending traditional marriage between one man and one woman excludes anybody or usurps anybody's civil rights and denies anybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-autry/i-do-not-believe-that-defending-traditional-marriage-between-one-man/) [Alan Autry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-autry/) > [Truth is on the side of the oppressed today, it's against the oppressor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/truth-is-on-the-side-of-the-oppressed-today-it-s-against-the-oppressor/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [The notion of women being written out of history is as old as the Bible, but it always seems more galling when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thornberry/the-notion-of-women-being-written-out-of-history-is-as-old-as-the/) [Emily Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thornberry/) [Browse all 1,552 Civil rights quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Feeling that our demands were moderate, I had assumed that they would be granted with little question; I had believed that the privileged would give up their privileges on request. This experience, however, taught me a lesson. I came to see that no one gives up his privileges without strong resistance.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Luther King Jr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/feeling-that-our-demands-were-moderate-i-had-assumed-that-they-would/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civil rights" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/feeling-that-our-demands-were-moderate-i-had-assumed-that-they-would/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fba/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_civil-rights_feeling-that-our-demands-were-moderate-i_587177.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fba/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_civil-rights_feeling-that-our-demands-were-moderate-i_587177.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fba/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_civil-rights_feeling-that-our-demands-were-moderate-i_587177.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Feeling that our demands were moderate, I had assumed that they would be granted with little question; I had…” — Martin Luther King Jr", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Martin Luther King Jr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Feeling that our demands were moderate,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/feeling-that-our-demands-were-moderate-i-had-assumed-that-they-would/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/feeling-that-our-demands-were-moderate-i-had-assumed-that-they-would/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```