Painterly coin suspended between two cupped hands above scattered autumn leaves.

Original artwork, not a still

Strength to Love  ·  1963

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker praises charitable giving but warns that generosity should not blind the giver to the unfair economic conditions that create the need for it. Kindness that only relieves suffering, without noticing its structural causes, is treated as incomplete rather than wrong.

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