Martin Luther King Jr quotes

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.

We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. 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.

Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.

The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?'

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.

Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.

The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?'

Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power; religion gives man wisdom which is control.

All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.

The time is always right to do what is right.

Discrimination is a hellhound that gnaws at Negroes in every waking moment of their lives to remind them that the lie of their inferiority is accepted as truth in the society dominating them.

The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.

It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself.

Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power; religion gives man wisdom which is control.

In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important.

I am not interested in power for power's sake, but I'm interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.

Every man lives in two realms: the internal and the external. The internal is that realm of spiritual ends expressed in art, literature, morals, and religion. The external is that complex of devices, techniques, mechanisms, and instrumentalities by means of which we live.

I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.

Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. Indeed, it is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it.

War is a poor chisel to carve out tomorrow.

Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.

We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.

Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion awaiting burial.

War is a poor chisel to carve out tomorrow.

We must use time creatively.

That old law about 'an eye for an eye' leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing.

Don't let anybody make you think God chose America as His divine messianic force to be a sort of policeman of the whole world.

Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power; religion gives man wisdom which is control.

Capitalism does not permit an even flow of economic resources. With this system, a small privileged few are rich beyond conscience, and almost all others are doomed to be poor at some level. That's the way the system works. And since we know that the system will not change the rules, we are going to have to change the system.

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.

At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.

It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.

Discrimination is a hellhound that gnaws at Negroes in every waking moment of their lives to remind them that the lie of their inferiority is accepted as truth in the society dominating them.

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.

The art of acceptance is the art of making someone who has just done you a small favor wish that he might have done you a greater one.

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 together at the table of brotherhood.

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.

Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion awaiting burial.

The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. 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.

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.

We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war but the postive affirmation of peace.

Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. I am not unmindful of the fact that violence often brings about momentary results. Nations have frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace.

The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood.

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. 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.

Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.

Property is intended to serve life, and no matter how much we surround it with rights and respect, it has no personal being. It is part of the earth man walks on. It is not man.

One of the greatest casualties of the war in Vietnam is the Great Society... shot down on the battlefield of Vietnam.

Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.

It is incontestable and deplorable that Negroes have committed crimes; but they are derivative crimes. They are born of the greater crimes of the white society.

I am not interested in power for power's sake, but I'm interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.

The sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.

Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.

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.

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

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.

We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war but the postive affirmation of peace.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. 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.

Property is intended to serve life, and no matter how much we surround it with rights and respect, it has no personal being. It is part of the earth man walks on. It is not man.

A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.

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. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent.

It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.

I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.

Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.

Every man lives in two realms: the internal and the external. The internal is that realm of spiritual ends expressed in art, literature, morals, and religion. The external is that complex of devices, techniques, mechanisms, and instrumentalities by means of which we live.

It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.

There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love.

If a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live.

Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power; religion gives man wisdom which is control.

We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war but the postive affirmation of peace.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.

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. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.

The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important.

One of the greatest casualties of the war in Vietnam is the Great Society... shot down on the battlefield of Vietnam.

Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. I am not unmindful of the fact that violence often brings about momentary results. Nations have frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace.

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.

Cowardice asks the question, is it safe? Expediency asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But conscience asks the question, is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right.

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. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent.

Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power; religion gives man wisdom which is control.

Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.

Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.

The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood.

Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. 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.

One of the greatest casualties of the war in Vietnam is the Great Society... shot down on the battlefield of Vietnam.

One of the greatest casualties of the war in Vietnam is the Great Society... shot down on the battlefield of Vietnam.

The sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.

A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.

If physical death is the price that I must pay to free my white brothers and sisters from a permanent death of the spirit, then nothing can be more redemptive.