Martin Luther King Jr. quotes: wise famous quotes, sayings and quotations by Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. Famous Quotes & Sayings

Discover top inspirational quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. on Wise Famous Quotes.

The arch of History is long, but it bends towards justice.

When any society says that I cannot marry a certain person, that society has cut off a segment of my freedom,

I have a dream!
To be free at last!
Free at last!
Free at last.
And if a man has nothing to die for,
Then his life is worth nothing.

Israel ... is one of the great outpost of democracy in the world

There is no gain without struggle.

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.

The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all men human and, therefore, brothers.

The job of the school is to teach so well that family background is no longer an issue.

We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.

We must have the faith that things will work out somehow, that God will make a way for us when there seems no way.

Our eternal message of hope is that dawn will come.

When I am commanded to love, I am commanded to restore community, to resist injustice, and to meet the needs of my brothers.

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

Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but ... groups tend to be more immoral than individuals.

[nonviolence] seeks to secure moral ends through moral means.

Courage is the power of the mind to overcome fear.

O America, how you've taken necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes.

Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love.

My place is in the sunlight of opportunity.

The principle of self defense, even involving weapons and bloodshed, has never been condemned, even by Gandhi.

Whenever men and women straighten their backs up, they are going somewhere, because a man can't ride your back unless it is bent

Your self-sacrificin g devotion to your purpose in life and your unwavering faith will carry you through times of difficulty.

A strong man must be militant as well as moderate. He must be a realist as well as an idealist.

I am not afraid of the word tension.

I just want to be there in love and in justice and in truth and in commitment to others, so that we can make of this old world a new world.

Our children need our presence, not our presents.

The failures of the past must not be an excuse for the inaction of the present and the future.

Nonviolence is an imperative in order to bring about ultimate community.

Every person must stand up and be accountable, but be responsible for their actions.

If I wish to compose or write or pray or preach well, I must be angry. Then all the blood in my veins is stirred, and my understanding is sharpened.

Great people aren't those who are happy at times of convienience and content, but of how they are in times of catastrophy and controversy.

Violence often brings about momentary results.

Be true to what you said on paper.

The darkest hour of our struggle had become the hour of victory. Disappointment, sorrow, and despair are born at midnight, but morning follows. I

The slaveholders of America had devised with almost scientific precision their systems for keeping the Negro defenseless, emotionally and physically.

The ability to lead a happy life is made, not found

Judge a man not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character.

The choice is not between violence and nonviolence but between nonviolence and nonexistence.

The contemporary church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch supporter of the status quo.

Worship is as natural to the human family as the sing of the sun is to the cosmic order.

A right delayed is a right denied.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

There are those who write history. There are those who make history. There are those who experience history.

The road to freedom is a difficult, hard road. It always makes for temporary setbacks.

We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.

We live in a world of guided missiles
and misguided men.

From my Christian formation've gotten my ideals and technique Gandhi action

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

Alienation is a form of living death. It is the acid of despair that dissolves society.

Jesus recognized that love is greater than like,

Violence is not only impractical but immoral.

We ain't what we oughta be. We ain't what we want to be. We ain't what we gonna be. But, thank God, we ain't what we was.

Will we march only to the music of time, or will we, risking criticism and abuse, march to the soul-saving music of eternity?

A productive and happy life is not something you find; it is something you make.

A man does not measure its height in moments of comfort, but in terms of change and controversy

We in the West must bear in mind that the poor countries are poor primarily because we have exploited them through political or economic colonialism.

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.

My obligation is to do the right thing. The rest is in God's hands.

We must in strength and humility meet hate with love.

The oppressed must never allow the conscience of the oppressor to slumber. Religion reminds every man that he is his brother's keeper.

Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.

We shall overcome.

There is a more excellent way, of love and nonviolent protest.

I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls.

There comes a time when a moral man can't obey a law which his conscience tells him is unjust.

As marvelous as the stars is the mind of the person who studies them.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city.

There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we have the resources to get rid of it.

I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham.

Power at its best is love implementing the demand of justice.

People with good intentions but limited understanding are more dangerous than people with total ill will.

Through violence you may murder the hater, but you cannot murder hate.

In this world is a God whose matchless strength is a fit contrast to the sordid weakness of man.

If the man did not find something to die for,he will not fit to life ...

Not everybody can be famous but everybody can be great, because greatness is determined by service.

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

So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Difficult and painful as it is, we must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious faith in the future.

Violence is anything that denies human integrity, and leads to hopelessness and helplessness.

Love even for enemies is the key to the solution of the problems of our world.

We must see that peace represents a sweeter music, a cosmic melody, that is far superior to the discords of war.

It is hardly a moral act to encourage others patiently to accept injustice which he himself does not endure.

I am what I am because of who we all are.

[I] know that love is ultimately the only answer to mankind's problems ...

You cannot defect form an insight. You cannot unsee what you have seen.

If a person sweeps streets for a living, he should sweep them as Michelangelo painted, as Beethoven composed, as Shakespear wrote.

I never intend to adjust myself to the madness of militarism.

Money, like any other force such as electricity, is amoral and can be used for either good or evil.

One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.

Something should remind us once more that the great things in this universe are things that we never see.

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

Be the best of whatever you are.

The time had come- indeed it was past due- when I had to disavow and dissociate myself from those who in the name of peace burn, maim, and kill.

Be sure to play "Blessed Lord" tonight - play it real pretty.

We can never travel beyond the arms of the Divine.

My soul is too glad and too great to be at heart the enemy of any man

I've decided to stick with love.

Freedom has always been an expensive thing. History is fit testimony to the fact that freedom is rarely gained without sacrifice and self-denial.

Some people are so worn down by the yoke of oppression that they give up.