Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes

Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.

Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.

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

If we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious values – that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all reality has spiritual control.

The moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of justice.

Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.

We are not makers of history. We are made by history.

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

He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.

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

To other countries, I may go as a tourist, but to India, I come as a pilgrim.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

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

We must use time creatively.

I want to be the white man’s brother, not his brother-in-law.

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.

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

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.

Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.

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 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?’

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

The past is prophetic in that it asserts loudly that wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.

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.

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’

We who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive.

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

Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies – or else? The chain reaction of evil – hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars – must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.

The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be… The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

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.

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 just want to do God’s will. And he’s allowed me to go to the mountain. And 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.

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

Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness.

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

Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.

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.

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

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

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

The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.

War is a poor chisel to carve out tomorrow.

Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.

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

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.

On some positions, Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ And Vanity comes along and asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’ But Conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

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

There is nothing more tragic than to find an individual bogged down in the length of life, devoid of breadth.

A riot is the language of the unheard.

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

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.

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.