Martin Luther King Quotes: Martin Luther King Jr. He was an African-American Baptist pastor and social activist who played a key role in the American civil rights movement from the mid-1950s until his assassination in 1968.
You may also check: 200 Significant Leo Tolstoy Quotes
Martin Luther King Quotes
‘“One has not only a legal, but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”’
‘“This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.”’
‘“The surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others.”’
‘“True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.”’
‘“Everyone has the power for greatness, not for fame but greatness, because greatness is determined by service.”’
‘“Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”’
‘“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?”’
‘“We must learn that passively to accept an unjust system is to cooperate with that system, and thereby to become a participant in its evil.”’
‘“A right delayed is a right denied.”’
‘“True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.”’
‘“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”’
‘“All we say to America is: be true to what you said on paper.”’
‘“The time is always right to do what is right.”’
‘“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”’
‘“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”’
‘“For the good of America, it is necessary to refute the idea that the dominant ideology in our country even today is freedom and equality while racism is just an occasional departure from the norm on the part of a few bigoted extremists.”’
‘“Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a better person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.”’
‘“The evils of capitalism are as real as the evils of militarism and evils of racism.”’
‘“The beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold.”’
‘“One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”’
‘“We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”’
‘“The price that America must pay for the continued oppression of the Negro and other minority groups is the price of its own destruction.”’
‘“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”’
‘“A society that has done something special against the Negro for hundreds of years must now do something special for him, in order to equip him to compete on a just and equal basis.”’
‘“As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation — either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course.”’
‘“White Americans must recognize that justice for black people cannot be achieved without radical changes in the structure of our society.”’
‘“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”’
‘“When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism and militarism are incapable of being conquered.”’
‘“Capital punishment is against the best judgment of modern criminology and, above all, against the highest expression of love in the nature of God.”’
‘“Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.”’
‘“Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.”’
‘“We all too often have socialism for the rich and rugged free market capitalism for the poor.”’
‘“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”’
‘“Something is wrong with capitalism. Maybe America must move toward a democratic socialism. We must develop programs that will drive the nation to the realization of the need for a guaranteed annual income.”’
‘“Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.”’
‘“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’”’
‘“The ultimate logic of racism is genocide.”’
‘“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”’
‘“Three hundred years of humiliation, abuse and deprivation cannot be expected to find voice in a whisper.”’
‘“There is no gain without struggle.”’
‘“We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.”’
‘“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”’
‘“There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair.”’
‘“I have decided to stick to love… Hate is too great a burden to bear.”’
‘“When we look at modern man, we have to face the fact… that modern man suffers from a kind of poverty of the spirit, which stands in glaring contrast to his scientific and technological abundance; We’ve learned to fly the air like birds, we’ve learned to swim the seas like fish, and yet we haven’t learned to walk the Earth as brothers and sisters…”’
‘“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”’
‘“The only weapon that we have in our hands this evening is the weapon of protest. That’s all.”’
‘“We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”’
‘“Violence brings only temporary victories; violence, by creating many more social problems than it solves, never brings permanent peace.”’
‘“It’s all right to tell a man to lift himself by his own bootstraps, but it is cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps.”’
‘“Almost always the creative, dedicated minority has made the world better.”’
‘“We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers.”’
‘“The choice is not between violence and nonviolence but between nonviolence and nonexistence.”’
‘“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.”’
‘“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way”’
‘“Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice.”’
‘“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”’
‘“We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak.”’,
‘“A social movement that only moves people is merely a revolt. A movement that changes both people and institutions is a revolution.”’
‘“The Universe is on the side of Justice.”’
‘“Oh, the worst of all tragedies is not to die young, but to live until I am seventy-five and yet not ever truly to have lived.”’
‘“Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.”’
‘“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree”’
‘“Right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”’
‘“I guess one of the great agonies of life is that we are constantly trying to finish that which is unfinishable”’
‘“The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority.”’
‘“But life at its best is a creative synthesis of opposites in fruitful harmony.”’
‘“So I have tried to make it clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends. But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends. ”’
‘“It does not matter how long you live, but how well you do it.”’
‘“The quality, not the longevity, of one’s life is what is important.”’
‘“Quietly endure, silently suffer and patiently wait.”’
‘“We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.”’
‘“Lightning makes no sound until it strikes.”’
‘“Use me, God. Show me how to take who I am, who I want to be, and what I can do, and use it for a purpose greater than myself.”’,
‘“No one really knows why they are alive until they know what they’d die for.”’
‘“Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.”’
‘“But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”’
‘“Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.”’
‘“Only in the darkness can you see the stars.”’
‘“Without love, there is no reason to know anyone, for love will in the end connect us to our neighbors, our children and our hearts.”’
‘“The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood.”’
‘“At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love”’
‘“If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream.”’
‘“Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”’
‘“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”’
‘“One day we will learn that the heart can never be totally right when the head is totally wrong”’
‘“Instead of eliminating evil, violence multiplies it.”’
‘“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”’
‘“Freedom is not won by a passive acceptance of suffering. Freedom is won by a struggle against suffering. By this measure, Negroes have not yet paid the full price for freedom. And whites have not yet faced the full cost of justice.”’
‘“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy to a friend.”’
‘“Don’t allow anybody to make you feel that you’re nobody.”’
‘“There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love.”’
‘“There is nothing more majestic than the determined courage of individuals willing to suffer and sacrifice for their freedom and dignity.”’
‘“One day the absurdity of the almost universal human belief in the slavery of other animals will be palpable. We shall then have discovered our souls and become worthier of sharing this planet with them.”’
‘“Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”’
‘“Those who love peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love war.”’
‘“The road to freedom is a difficult, hard road. It always makes for temporary setbacks.”’
‘“We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience.”’
‘“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”’
‘“I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls.”’
‘“Violence is not only impractical but immoral.”’
‘“Babies, we are told, are the latest news from heaven.”’
‘“Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.”’
‘“There comes a time when silence is betrayal.”’
‘“Unearned suffering is redemptive.”’
‘“The potential beauty of human life is constantly made ugly by man’s ever-recurring song of retaliation.”’
‘“All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.”’
‘“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”’
‘“Ten thousand fools proclaim themselves into obscurity, while one wise man forgets himself into immortality.”’
‘“I have a dream. I have a dream that one day, people will be judged by the content of their character, not by the color of their skin.”’
‘“Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.”’
‘“I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state sweltering in the heat of injustice and oppression, will one day be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.”’
‘“Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.”’
‘“The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.”’
‘“No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”’
‘“The difference between a dreamer and a visionary is that a dreamer has his eyes closed and a visionary has his eyes open”’
‘“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.”’
‘“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”’
‘“There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”’
‘“We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.”’
‘“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”’
‘“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”’
‘“Free at last, Free at last, Thank God almighty we are free at last.”’
‘“Education is the key to unlock the Golden door of Freedom”’
‘“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”’
‘“Nothing pains some people more than having to think”’
‘“Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.”’
‘“We must find an alternative to war and bloodshed.”’
‘“Be the peace you wish to see in the world.”’
‘“If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice, say that I was a drum major for peace, I was a drum major for righteousness.”’
‘“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.”’
‘“This is the unusual thing about nonviolence — nobody is defeated, everybody shares in the victory.”’,
‘“Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.”’
‘“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”’
‘“Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be a sun, be a star. For it isn’t by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.”’
‘“Whatever your life’s work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.”’
‘“We must substitute courage for caution.”’
‘“You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say”’
‘“Courage faces fear and thereby masters it”’
‘“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”’
‘“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right…”’
‘“Not everybody can be famous but everybody can be great, because greatness is determined by service.”’
‘“A man who won’t die for something is not fit to live.”’
‘“Courage is the power of the mind to overcome fear.”’
‘“Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.”’
‘“It is cheerful to God when you rejoice or laugh from the bottom of your heart.”’
‘“Like anybody, I would like to have a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will.”’
‘“The end of life is not to be happy, nor to achieve pleasure and avoid pain, but to do the will of God, come what may.”’
- Mauro Icardi responds to Jose Mourinho’s ‘Handball World Cup’ post
- Mario Lemina is a Galatasaray player again
- His status was a matter of curiosity: White House announces Elon Musk’s mission
- Manuel Neuer has extended his contract with Bayern until 2026
- The waters receded, revealing the 2,800-year-old island-like Pertek Castle’s nizizamiyesi