Context

Now that's some seriously good advice.

In The Watsons Go to Birmingham, Byron says this to Kenny to help him deal with the bombing that almost killed Joey in Birmingham.

See, Byron has matured a lot from his initial troublemaking self, and is trying to explain to his little bro that life isn't fair. White men try to kill black children and probably nothing will happen to them.

But Byron's solution? Acceptance and forward thinking.

Where you've heard it

The final "keep on steppin'" part of the quote is a popular adage used to motivate someone going through a hard time, like a lost job or a stubbed toe… err, actually, maybe you should sit down for a moment. But the obstacle referred to in the novel isn't a stubbed toe, its racism, and this quote is quite apt because people literally kept steppin' (or marched) as a means to effect change in U.S. law.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Quoting children's literature as a means of motivating someone to carry on? If that's pretentious we don't know what to say. Feel free to drop this quote without worry, just don't forget the "on" or people might take it as some mad disrespect.