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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

“Forgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done or putting a false label on an evil act. It means, rather, that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship. Forgiveness is a catalyst creating the atmosphere necessary for a fresh start and a new beginning.”

MeanDoeHas BeensDoneEvilCreatingForgivenessRemainsLabelsAtmosphereBarriersNew BeginningsCatalystFresh StartLoving Your Enemies
Book:A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love and Other Preachings
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“With all of its false assumptions and evil methods, communism grew as a protest against the hardships of the underprivileged. Communism in theory emphasized a classless society, and a concern for social justice, though the world knows from sad experience that in practice it created new classes and a new lexicon of injustice.”

KnowsWorldWisdomEvilPoliticsSocialJusticeClassPracticeEconomyTheoryGrewConcernMethodSocial JusticeInjusticeCommunismAssumptionLiberalismProtestHardshipUnderprivilegedLexiconFalse AssumptionsNew ClassClassless Society
Book:A Martin Luther King Treasury
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“Wisdom born of experience should tell us that war is obsolete. There may have been a time when war served as a negative good by preventing the spread and growth of an evil force If we assume that life is worth living, if we assume that mankind has the right to survive, then we must find an alternative to war.”

IfsShouldMayHas BeensWarLife IsEvilForceGrowthBornMankindNegativeAssumingSpreadAlternativesWorth LivingObsoletePreventingLife Is Worth Living
Book:The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.:
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“I think the first reason that we should love our enemies, and I think this was at the very center of Jesus' thinking, is this: that hate for hate only intensifies the existence of hate and evil in the universe.”

ThinkingShouldFirstsReasonHateUniverseEvilJesusExistenceEnemyPeace And Justice
Book:A Time to Break Silence: The Essential Works of Martin Luther King, Jr., for Students
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“Whenever the early Christians entered a town the power structure got disturbed and immediately sought to convict them for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators." But they went on with the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," and had to obey God rather than man. They were small in number but big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." They brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contest.”

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Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“The use of violence in our struggle would be both impractical and immoral. To meet hate with retaliatory hate would do nothing but intensify the existence of evil in the universe. Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love; we must meet physical force with soul force. Our aim must never be to defeat or humiliate the white man, but to win his friendship and understanding.”

MenSoulUseWould BeHateUniverseEvilWinningForceUnderstandingWhiteExistenceStruggleGreaterViolenceAimDefeatWhite ManImmoralBegetsPower Of LoveToughnessHumiliatePhysical ForceSoul Force
Book:A Martin Luther King Treasury
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“The white poor also suffer deprivation and the humiliation of poverty if not of color. They are chained by the weight of discrimination though its badge of degradation does not mark them. It corrupts their lives, frustrates their opportunities and withers their education. In one sense it is more evil for them because it has confused so many by prejudice that they have supported their own oppressors.”

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Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“The Negro who experiences bitter and agonizing circumstances as a result of some ungodly white person is tempted to look upon all white persons as evil, if he fails to look beyond his circumstances. But the minute he looks beyond his circumstances and sees the whole of the situation, he discovers that some of the most implacable and vehement advocates of racial equality are consecrated white persons.”

IfsLooksPersonsWholeEvilWhiteResultsSituationFailingMinutesCircumstancesBitterLook UpTemptedAgonizingVehementRacial Equality
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“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.”

InspirationalHateEvilInspiringEnemyRelationshipWorstForgivenessCapacityHatredForgivingSelf DiscoveryAfrican AmericanGood And EvilInspirational LoveForgivenLove HateLove And HateWorst EnemyForgive YourselfLove Your EnemiesGood Against EvilI Forgive YouWhat Is ForgivenessLove And ForgivenessPower Of ForgivenessI Have A Dream SpeechKings SpeechKings And LoveGood KingsLoving Your EnemiesForgiveness LoveHatred And LoveEvil WorldHated LoveAfrican American Civil RightsBeing HatedForgiveness And PeaceHatred For LoveGod Forgive MeForgiving LoveChristian ForgivenessGood Enemy
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“The time is always right to do what is right.”

InspirationalTimeEvilFreedomInspiringBusinessAttitudeResponsibilityOne ThingPositivePositive ThinkingKingsHonorIntegrityBehaviorStandardsEthicsIntelligenceCivil RightsThings To DoRight ThingRighteousnessRighteousAmerican DreamSelf DisciplineBadassBlack HistoryRight PlaceCivil Rights MovementBaptistsDoing The Right ThingGood CharacterPeace And JusticeDoing RightBlack History MonthHonesty IntegrityHonesty And IntegrityBlack History Month InspirationalIntegrity And CharacterHonest And IntegrityIntegrity CharacterHonor And IntegrityAfrican American HistoryPrecious TimeMoral EthicsKings And LoveLeadership IntegrityGood KingsBlack History InspirationalSocial GoodLife DeterminationInspirational CharacterKwanzaaProper TimeEthics And IntegrityLiving RightAfrican American History MonthBlack InspirationalSpiritual IntegrityMoral IntegrityMorals And IntegrityAfrican American Civil RightsTime Is PreciousInspirational HistoryPositive BehaviorRight TimingAlways Being Right
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“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.”

LoveBelieveCharacterRealityTruthEvilI BelievePeaceVirtueHonestyKingsWords Of WisdomIntegrityDespairStrongerFinalsWordsDefeatI Believe InGood And EvilUnconditional LoveTemporaryDefeatedUnconditionalCivil Rights MovementPeace WarBeing StrongTriumphantPeace And JusticePure LovePeace And LovePeace JusticeGood Vs EvilUnarmedStrong PeopleGood Against EvilConditionalAccepting RealityUnconditional AcceptanceKings SpeechFinal WordsKings And LoveCivil Right MovementAcceptance SpeechTruth And RealityConditional LoveReality Of LoveStruggle Between Good And Evil
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“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.”

WorldLoveWarHateEvilDarkEnemyModernBrokenReactionsChainsAbyssModern WorldComplacencyAnnihilationLove Your EnemiesGood Against EvilLoving Your EnemiesI Hate LoveChain ReactionsImpasse
Book:I Have a Dream: The Quotations of Martin Luther King, Jr
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“He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.”

LoveWisdomEvilEnemyPowerWiseLove YouWords Of WisdomForgivenessHatredForgivingUnconditional LoveForgivenDeep ThoughtDeprivedLove HatePower Of LoveForgive YourselfLove Your EnemiesGood Against EvilI Forgive YouWhat Is ForgivenessLove And ForgivenessInspirational ForgivenessPower Of ForgivenessI Have A Dream SpeechKings SpeechKings And LoveLoving Your EnemiesForgiveness LoveHatred And LoveEvil WorldHated LovePowerful LoveAfrican American Civil RightsForgiveness And PeaceHatred For LoveGod Forgive MeForgiving LoveChristian Forgiveness
Book:A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love and Other Preachings
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“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate... Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

MayFactsLightLyingHateEvilFearPeaceCan DoDarknessViolenceKingsWeaknessHatredUltimateIncreaseMurderLiarsNon ViolenceOnly LoveSpiralsDescendingViolence And PeaceKings And LoveLove Not Hate
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“Violence never really deals with the basic evil of the situation. Violence may murder the murderer, but it doesn’t murder murder. Violence may murder the liar, but it doesn’t murder lie; it doesn’t establish truth. Violence may even murder the dishonest man, but it doesn’t murder dishonesty. Violence may go to the point of murdering the hater, but it doesn’t murder hate. It may increase hate. It is always a descending spiral leading nowhere. This is the ultimate weakness of violence: It multiplies evil and violence in the universe. It doesn’t solve any problems.”

MenMayProblemLyingHateUniverseEvilDealsSituationViolenceWeaknessUltimateIncreaseMurderSolveLiarsMurdererDishonestySpiralsDescending
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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“Communism forgets that life is individual. Capitalism forgets that life is social, and the kingdom of brotherhood is found neither in the thesis of communism nor the antithesis of capitalism but in a higher synthesis. It is found in a higher synthesis that combines the truths of both.”

LifeMeanWarWholeProblemTogetherLife IsEvilFoundIndividualSocialForgetCommunicationHigherRacismCapitalismKingdomsCommunismBrotherhoodTiedExploitationThesisSynthesisAntithesis
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“In our struggle against racial segregation in Montgomery, Alabama, I came to see at a very early stage that a synthesis of Gandhi's method of nonviolence and the Christian ethic of love is the best weapon available to Negroes for this struggle for freedom and human dignity. It may well be that the Gandhian approach will bring about a solution to the race problem in America. His spirit is a continual reminder to oppressed people that it is possible to resist evil and yet not resort to violence.”

PeopleHumansWellsMayProblemChristianAmericaSpiritEvilLove IsRaceStruggleViolenceStageApproachWeaponsSolutionsEthicsDignityMethodAvailableNonviolenceOppressedRemindersResortsSegregationHuman DignityAlabamaSynthesisMontgomeryChristian EthicsStruggle For FreedomRacial Segregation
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“By opening our lives to God in Christ, we become new creatures. This experience, which Jesus spoke of as the new birth, is essential if we are to be transformed nonconformists . . . Only through an inner spiritual transformation do we gain the strength to fight vigorously the evils of the world in a humble and loving spirit.”

IfsWorldChristianSpiritualSpiritFightingEvilJesusChristOur LivesBirthCreaturesEssentialsGainsTransformationHumbleOpeningSpokesTransformedSpiritual Transformation
Book:A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love and Other Preachings
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“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. 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. 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.”

PeopleHelpingEvilSocialJusticeSilenceAcceptingDestinyCourageRecordsInvolvedPeriodsIntegrityTragedyThreatInjusticeCaughtTransitionGood PeopleTiedGarmentsBad PeopleClamorCooperatingInjustice Anywhere
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“I am convinced that love is the most durable power in the world. It is not an expression of impractical idealism, but of practical realism. Far from being the pious injunction of a Utopian dreamer, love is an absolute necessity for the survival of our civilization. To return hate for hate does nothing but intensify the existence of evil in the universe. Someone must have sense enough and religion enough to cut off the chain of hate and evil, and this can only be done through love.”

WorldDoeWarDoneEnoughHateUniverseEvilPeaceLove IsExistenceCuttingExpressionReturnCivilizationSurvivalAbsolutesConvincedPracticalsChainsDreamerRealismIdealismPiousUtopian
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“When our days become dreary with low hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.”

WayLongAbleRememberNightUniverseEvilForceRealizingJusticeDarkMoralPowerCreativeTomorrowThousandMountainDespairLowsCloudsYesterdayMidnightArcsDrearyHovering
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“It is my hope that as the Negro plunges deeper into the quest for freedom and justice he will plunge even deeper into the philosophy of non-violence. The Negro all over the South must come to the point that he can say to his white brother: "We will match your capacity to inflict suffering with our capacity to endure suffering. We will meet your physical force with soul force. We will not hate you, but we will not obey your evil laws. We will soon wear you down by pure capacity to suffer".”

SoulPhilosophyLawSufferingHateEvilForceJusticeWhiteViolenceBrotherPureCapacitySouthEndureDeeperQuestsHate YouNon ViolencePlungePhysical ForceSoul Force
Book:The Wisdom of Martin Luther King, Jr
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“My study of Gandhi convinced me that true pacifism is not nonresistance to evil, but nonviolent resistance to evil. Between the two positions, there is a world of difference. Gandhi resisted evil with as much vigor and power as the violent resister, but True pacifism is not unrealistic submission to evil power. It is rather a courageous confrontation of evil by the power of love. . . .”

WorldLoveTwoEvilDifferencesCourageStudyPositionConvincedViolentResistanceCourageousSubmissionConfrontationPower Of LoveVigorPacifismNonviolent Resistance
Book:In a Single Garment of Destiny
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