I've Never Credited Myself With A Professional

[martin Luther] King Was One Of The Two Young Ministers - And You Know How Directly Oriented The Negro Community Still Is Towards The Minister As The Leader.

I Didn't Have Any Close Relationship With Him Because, Although [william Edward Burghardt] Dubois May Not Have Been As Egocentric - I Don't Know - He Certainly Was Not The Easiest Person To Approach. I Think, Certainly, Those Of Us Who Were Younger Sort Of Respected That In Terms Of His Preoccupation With Deep Thoughts. So, I Made No Effort To Establish Any Relationship With Him. However, He Was In And Out Then.

From The Cooperative League, I Suppose, With The Depression Lingering As Long As It Did, The Next Step In Terms Of, As You Call It, Professional Relationship, Was To Go To The National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People [naacp]. I Went There As An Assistant Field Secretary, And So Forth. So, I Suppose That Was The First Organized Step.

You Didn't See Me On Television, You Didn't See News Stories About Me. The Kind Of Role That I Tried To Play Was To Pick Up Pieces Or Put Together Pieces Out Of Which I Hoped Organization Might Come. My Theory Is, Strong People Don't Need Strong Leaders.

I've Never Credited Myself With A Professional Life. But, Basically, It Has Been That.