MARTIN LUTHER KING

“The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.”

“Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom.” (“The Death of Evil upon the Seashore,” 1956)

“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed.” (“Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” 1963)

“For when people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory.” (“I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” 1968)

“Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.” (Speech at Park-Sheraton Hotel, 1962)

“Every man of humane convictions must decide on the protest that best suits his convictions, but we must all protest.” (Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence Digital History, 1967)

“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.” (“A Proper Sense of Priorities,” 1968)

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” (Strength to Love, 1963)

“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.” (The Domestic Impact of the War in Vietnam, 1967)

“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.” (Address at Spelman College, 1960)

“We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” (“The Purpose of Education,” 1947)

“We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now because I’ve been to the mountaintop… I’ve looked over and I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land.” (“I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” 1968)

“We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.” (In My Own Words, published in 2002)

 “We must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious faith in the future.” (“Where Do We Go from Here?” 1967)

 “One day we will learn that the heart can never be totally right when the head is totally wrong.” (Strength to Love, 1963)

 “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” (Strength to Love, 1963)

 “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” (From a sermon delivered in Selma, Alabama, 1965)

 “We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” (Washington National Cathedral, 1968)

 “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.” (Speech at Glenville High School, 1967)

 “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.” (Speech at Cornell College, 1962)

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” (Speech in St. Louis, 1964)

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” (“Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” 1963)

“Here is the true meaning and value of compassion and nonviolence, when it helps us to see the enemy’s point of view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of ourselves. For from his view we may indeed see the basic weaknesses of our own condition, and if we are mature, we may learn and grow and profit from the wisdom of the brothers who are called the opposition.” (“Beyond Vietnam,” 1967)

“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” (“All Labor Has Dignity,” 1968) 

“Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” (“Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” 1963)

“We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always right to do right.” (“Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” 1963)

“The beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold.” (Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, 1964)

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” (Speech in Montgomery, Alabama, 1957)

“If democracy is to have breadth of meaning, it is necessary to adjust this inequity. It is not only moral, but it is also intelligent. We are wasting and degrading human life by clinging to archaic thinking.” (“Where Do We Go from Here?” 1967)

“There comes a time when people get tired of being pushed out of the glittering sunlight of life’s July and left standing amid the piercing chill of an alpine November.” (“The Montgomery Bus Boycott,” 1955) 

“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.” (March for Integrated Schools, 1959)

“Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies.” (New York City, 1967)