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Martin Luther King, Jr. quotes

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“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.'” Martin Luther King, Jr., I have a Dream
“Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood...” Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
“Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro. Something within has reminded him of his birthright of freedom, and something without has...” Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
“Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.” Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
“One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.” Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
“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 down together at the table of brotherhood.” Martin Luther King, Jr., I have a Dream
“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
“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., I have a Dream
“one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
“I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress.” Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
“There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love.” Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
“We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.” Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
“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...” Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
“We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was 'legal' and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was 'illegal.'” Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
“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.” Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
“Over the past few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek. I have tried to make clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends. But now I must affirm...” Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
“the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.” Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
“This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit...” Martin Luther King, Jr., I have a Dream
“This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.” Martin Luther King, Jr., I have a Dream

Related topics

justice freedom law equality oppression injustice silence dream brotherhood misunderstanding racism truth men slavery love hope fight understanding democracy morality

Related sources

Letter from a Birmingham Jail (15)
I have a Dream (5)