Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes and Sayings - Page 1
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“The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr. -
“Segregation, as even the segregationists know in their hearts, is morally wrong and sinful. If it weren't, the white South would not be haunted as it is by a deep sense of guilt for what it has done to the Negro - guilt for patronizing him, degrading him, brutalizing him, depersonalizing him, thingifying him; guilt for lying to itself. This is the source of the schizophrenia that the South will suffer until it goes through its crisis of conscience.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr. -
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.Source : Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2012). “A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love and Other Preachings”, p.67, Beacon Press
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“What the Negro wants - and will not stop until he gets - is absolute and unqualified freedom and equality here in this land of his birth, and not in Africa or in some imaginary state. The Negro no longer will be tolerant of anything less than his due right and heritage. He is pursuing only that which he knows is honorably his. He knows that he is right.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr. -
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“I question and soul-search constantly into myself to be as certain as I can that I am fulfilling the true meaning of my work, that I am maintaining my sense of purpose, that I am holding fast to my ideals, that I am guiding my people in the right direction.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr. -
“A strong man must be militant as well as moderate. He must be a realist as well as an idealist.”
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“Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction.”
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“Nonviolence is a powerful as well as a just weapon. If you confront a man who has long been cruelly misusing you, and say, "Punish me, if you will; I do not deserve it, but I will accept it, so that the world will know I am right and you are wrong," then you wield a powerful and a just weapon. This man, your oppressor, is automatically morally defeated, and if he has any conscience, he is ashamed.”
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“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.”
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“I don't think you can be in public life without being called bad names.”
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“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.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.Source : Speech at Civil Rights March,Washington, D.C., 28 Aug. 1963
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“When the Negro finds the courage to be free, he faces dogs and guns and clubs and fire hoses totally unafraid, and the white men with those dogs, guns, clubs and fire hoses see that the Negro they have traditionally called "boy" has become a man.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr. -
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“Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”
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“I must face the fact, as all others in positions of leadership must do, that America today is an extremely sick nation, and that something could well happen to me at any time. I feel, though, that my cause is so right, so moral, that if I should lose my life, in some way it would aid the cause.”
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“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.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.Source : Strength to Love (1963) ch. 3
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“If I were constantly worried about death, I couldn't function. After a while, if your life is more or less constantly in peril, you come to a point where you accept the possibility philosophically.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr. -
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“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr. -
“The unemployed, poverty-stricken white man must be made to realize that he is in the very same boat with the Negro. Together, they could exert massive pressure on the government to get jobs for all. Together, they could form a grand alliance. Together, they could merge all people for the good of all.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr. -
“Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.Source : Martin Luther King Jr. (1963). “Strength to Love”
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“Time has been used destructively by people of ill will much more than it has been used constructively by those of good will.”
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“You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.Source : Mother Jones Magazine, Vol.16, No.3, p.77, May - June 1991.
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“I think that we must face the fact that in reality, you cannot have economic and political equality without having some form of social equality. I think this is inevitable.”
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“Unless you have found something in life to live for that is more important to you than your own life, you will always be a slave. For all another man needs to do is threaten to take your life to get you to do his bidding.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr. -
“Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr. -
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“Those who are not looking for happiness are the most likely to find it, because those who are searching forget that the surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr. -
“We must combine the toughness of the serpent with the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr. -
“White Americans must be made to understand the basic motives underlying Negro demonstrations. Many pent-up resentments and latent frustrations are boiling inside the Negro, and he must release them. It is not a threat but a fact of history that if an oppressed people's pent-up emotions are not nonviolently released, they will be violently released.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr. -
“The time is always right to do what is right.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr. -
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“I've always tried to be what I call militantly nonviolent. I don't believe that anyone could seriously accuse me of not being totally committed to the breakdown of segregation.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.Source : Source: www.guernicamag.com
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“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.
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