Famous Martin Luther King Quotations

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"The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The time is always right to do what is right."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"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."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"War is a poor chisel to carve out tomorrow."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"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."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"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."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"One of the greatest casualties of the war in Vietnam is the Great Society ... shot down on the battlefield of Vietnam."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Pity may represent little more than the impersonal concern which prompts the mailing of a check, but true sympathy is the personal concern which demands the giving of one's soul."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law ... That would lead to anarchy. An individual who breaks a law that his 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."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"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."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. you only need a heart full of grace. a soul generated by love."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"A riot is the language of the unheard."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
by Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
by Dr. Martin Luther King
"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."
by Martin Luther King Jr.
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"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."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"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."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"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."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Seeing is not always believing."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"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."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"We have guided missiles and misguided men."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"'The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.'"
by Martin Luther King Jr.
"...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. So I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"A lie cannot live."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"A man can't ride your back unless it's bent."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"A man who won’t die for something is not fit to live."
by Martin Luther King Jr.
"A man who won't die for something is not fit to live."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"A nation that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on an installment plan."
by Martin Luther King Jr.
"A riot is at bottom the language of the unheard."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"A right delayed is a right denied."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"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 the law."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"But I know somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars."
by Martin Luther King Jr.
"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."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Cowardice asks the question - is it safe?
Vanity asks the question - is it popular?
Expediency asks the question - is it political?
But conscience asks the question - is it right?

There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, popular, or political; but because it is right."
by Dr. Martin Luther King
"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."
by Dr. Martin Luther King
"Courage is the power of the mind to overcome fear."
by Martin Luther King Jr.
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only life can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that."
by Martin Luther King Jr
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate only love can do that."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"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."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Do not condemn the man that cannot think or act as fast as you can, because there was a time when you could not do things as well as you can today."
by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness"
by Martin Luther King Jr.
"Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Forgiveness is not an occasional act it is an attitude."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"From seeds of his body blossomed the flower that liberated a people and touched the soul of a nation. (Funeral oration for Martin Luther King, Sr.)"
by Jesse Louis Jackson
"God is not merely interestd in the freedom of brown men, yellow men, red men and black men.He is interested in the freedom of the whole human race."
by Martin Luther King Jr.
"Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it."
by Martin Luther King
"Hatred paralyzes life love releases it. Hatred confuses life love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life love illumines it."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"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."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"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."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"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."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"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."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"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. I have a dream today"
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I have a dream that one day ... the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"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"
by Martin Luther King Jr.
"I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Councilor or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice who constantly says 'I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action' who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for someone else's freedom who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a 'more convenient season.'"
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"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."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I submit that an individual who breaks the law that conscience tells him is unjust and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest respect for law."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"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 the law."
by Martin Luther King Jr.
"I want to be the white man's brother, not his brother-in-law."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I’ve seen too much hate to want to hate, myself, and every time I see it, I say to myself, hate is too great a burden to bear. Somehow we must be able to stand up against our most bitter opponents and say:”We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering. We will meet your physical force with soul force. Do to us what you will and we will still love you.... But be assured that we’ll wear you down by our capacity to suffer, and one day we will win our freedom. We will not only win freedom for ourselves; we will appeal to your heart and conscience that we will win you in the process, and our victory will be a double victory."
by Martin Luther King Jr.
"If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven played music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause and say, 'Here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well.'"
by Martin Luther King Jr.
"If a man hasn’t discovered something he will die for, he isn’t fit to live."
by Martin Luther King Jr.
"If Rosa Parks had not refused to move to the back of the bus, you and I might never have heard of Dr Martin Luther King."
by Ramsey Clark
"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."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"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."
by Martin Luther King Jr.
"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."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"If you will protest courageously, and yet with dignity and Christian love, when the history books are written in future generations, the historians will have to pause and say, There lived a great people-a black people-who injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends"
by Martin Luther King Jr.
"Injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured"
by Martin Luther King Jr.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhwre. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"
by Martin Luther King Jr.


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