You are either part of the problem or part of the solution.

The earliest located uses are tied to Reverend Harry Emerson Fosdick in late 1936, first as the title/theme of a Riverside Church service and then as a maxim repeated in newspaper commentary about individual responsibility in addressing social problems. Later decades popularized shorter, punchier forms and the line was sometimes credited to others, including Eldridge Cleaver, who used it publicly but indicated he was repeating an existing saying.

The adage frames civic and moral responsibility as a binary choice: through action or inaction, a person either contributes to worsening a situation or helps improve it. It’s often used to push people toward constructive engagement rather than neutrality.

each one, as an individual, is a part of the problem or a part of the answer

A man is either a part of the problem or a part of the answer

If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem