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Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes

Civil rights activist

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Famous Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes

“But there is another way. And that is to organize mass non-violent resistance based on the principle of love. It seems to me that this is the only way as our eyes look to the future. As we look out across the years and across the generations, let us develop and move right here. We must discover the power of love, the power, the redemptive power of love. And when we discover that we will be able to make of this old world a new world. We will be able to make men better. Love is the only way.”

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Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“Agape is something of the understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill for all men. It is a love that seeks nothing in return. It is an overflowing love; it's what theologians would call the love of God working in the lives of men. And when you rise to love on this level, you begin to love men, not because they are likeable, but because God loves them.”

MenLifeUnderstandingLevelsCreativeReturnGod LoveTheologianGoodwillLikeableAgape
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“There may come a time when it will be possible for you to humiliate your worst enemy or even to defeat him, but in order to love the enemy you must not do it... The Greek language has another word [for love]. It calls it agape. Agape is more than romantic love. Agape is more than friendship. Agape is understanding, redemptive goodwill for all men. Agape is an overflowing love, a spontaneous love, which seeks nothing in return. And theologians would say that it is the love of God operating in the human heart. When you rise to love on this level you love all men, not because you like them, not because their ways appeal to you, not because they are worthful to you, but you love all men because God loves them. And you rise to the noble heights of loving the person who does the evil deed while hating the deed that the person does. And I think this is what Jesus means when he says, “Love your enemies.””

MenWayLifeMeanPersonsDoeSoulHateEvilOpportunityJesusIndividualUnderstandingLove IsEnemyLove YouDefeatRefuseDeedsYour SoulGod LoveGoodwillLove Your EnemiesAgapeLoving Your Enemies
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“We can no longer afford to worship the God of hate or bow before the altar of retaliation. The oceans of history are made turbulent by the ever-rising tides of hate. History is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and individuals that pursued this self-defeating path of hate. Love is the key to the solution of the problems of the world.”

WorldLifeMadeSelfProblemHateIndividualNationsLove IsPathKeysOceanWorshipSolutionsRisingTidesBowsPursuedAltarsLove HateRetaliationWreckageBreaking Silence
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“Love is basic for the very survival of mankind. I'm convinced that love is the only absolute ultimately; love is the highest good. He who loves has somehow discovered the meaning of ultimate reality. He who hates does not know God; he who hates has no knowledge of God. Love is the supreme unifying principle of life.”

KnowsLifeDoeRealityHateLove IsPrinciplesMankindSurvivalHighestUltimateAbsolutesConvincedSupremeGod LoveKnowing GodKnowledge Of GodUnifyingUltimate Reality
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“Somehow we must transform the dynamics of the world power struggle from the negative nuclear arms race which no one can win to a positive contest to harness man's creative genius for the purpose of making peace and prosperity a reality for all of the nations of the world.”

MenWorldRealityPurposeWinningNationsPeaceRaceCreativityStruggleCreativeArmsGeniusNegativeProsperityPositivityNuclearContestsMaking PeaceDisarmamentPeace WarDynamicsHarnessPeace And JusticePeace JusticeMake Peace Not WarArms RaceCreative GeniusPower StruggleNuclear ArmsWorld PowerNuclear Arms Race
Book:The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.:
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“We have moved into an era where we are called upon to raise certain basic questions about the whole society. We are still called upon to give aid to the beggar who finds himself in misery and agony on life's highway. But one day, we must ask the question of whether an edifice which produces beggars must not be restructured and refurbished.”

GivingStillsWholeCertainAsksPovertySocietyProduceOne DayRaisesMovedMiseryAidsErasAgonyHighwaysBeggarEdificeRoot Cause
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our present policies... True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. A true revolution of values will soon look on uneasily upon the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth with righteous indignation.”

LooksValuesCausesWealthJusticeCompassionPovertyPolicyRevolutionContrastRighteousFairnessCoinsBeggarIndignationBreaking SilenceRighteous Indignation
Book:In a Single Garment of Destiny
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“Being a Negro in America means trying to smile when you want to cry. It means trying to hold on to physical life amid psychological death. It means the pain of watching your children grow up with clouds of inferiority in their mental skies. It means having their legs off, and then being condemned for being a cripple.”

WantTryingMeanChildrenPainAmericaGrowsGrowing UpSkyCryOur ChildrenCloudsLegsPsychologicalCivil RightsYour ChildrenInferiorityCripplesCivil Rights Leaders
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

InspirationalFirstsWholeFaithStepsSeeingMilitaryPositiveAttractionProductivityRecoveryAfrican AmericanLaw Of AttractionPushingFirst StepsProcrastinationNew BeginningsStarting OverTaking ActionBaptistsSteps ForwardSecret Law Of AttractionHappy New YearNew Year New BeginningAddiction RecoveryNew Year New StartStaircasesStop ProcrastinationTake Your TimeMotivational ActionPower Of AttractionInspirational New BeginningNew Day New BeginningBaby StepsNew Life New BeginningStairwaysSingle StepBeginning Of LifeLife And InspirationalMotivational Life ChangingMotivation And ChangeCareer MotivationInspirational Addiction RecoveryMotivational Keep GoingOvercoming AddictionNew Beginning LifeInspirational RecoveryTake It One Day At A Time12 Step Recovery12 StepAa RecoveryMotivational RecoveryNew Beginnings In LifeNew Chapter In LifeStarting All Over AgainTake One Day At A TimeMotivational HealthPushing OnFaith In Action
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“We have deluded ourselves into believing the myth that capitalism grew and prospered out of the Protestant ethic of hard work and sacrifices. Capitalism was built on the exploitation of black slaves and continues to thrive on the exploitation of the poor, both black and white, both here and abroad.”

BelieveHardBlackJusticeWhitePoorSacrificeHard WorkGrewDiversityEthicsCapitalismBuiltSocial JusticeSlaveMythThriveBlack And WhiteExploitationProtestantsDeluded
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens 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.”

OrderPeaceJusticeWhiteCitizensDiversityNegativeSocial JusticeAbsenceBlockConclusionTensionDevotedModeratesDisobedienceStrideCivil DisobedienceStumblingLukewarmEconomic JusticeStumbling BlocksCreative Tension
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go up to the mountaintop. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land.”

WantMindLongMatterDifficultJusticeLandDiversityConcernedSocial JusticeGods WillLongevityLong LifePromised LandDifficult Days
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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