Quotessence
Home / Authors / Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes

Civil rights activist

Filter quotes by topic

AllMenInspirationalIfsWorldPeopleJusticeHateViolenceEvilNationsPeaceCivil RightsKingsMoralWarPeace And JusticeAmericaKings SpeechTodayHumans

Famous Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes

“I imagine you already know that I am much more socialistic in my economic theory than capitalistic. And yet I am not so opposed to capitalism that I have failed to see its relative merits. It started out with a noble and high motive, to block the trade monopolies of nobles, but like most human systems it falls victim to the very thing it was revolting against. So today capitalism has outlived its usefulness. It has brought about a system that takes necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes.”

KnowsGivingHumansTodayFallClassImagineEconomicTheoryMassCapitalismVictimTradeNobleBlockLuxuryMeritMotiveRelativeMonopolyUsefulnessEconomic Theory
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
Create image

“A nation that will keep people in slavery for 244 years will "thingify" them and make them things. And therefore, they will exploit them and poor people generally economically. And a nation that will exploit economically will have to have foreign investments and everything else, and it will have to use its military might to protect them. All of these problems are tied together. What I'm saying today is that we must go from this convention and say, "America, you must be born again!"”

PeopleYearsUseProblemWisdomMightTodayTogetherAmericaPoliticsNationsBornPoorEconomyMilitaryProtectSlaveryInvestmentLiberalismConventionsTiedPoor PeopleExploitsBorn Again
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
Create image

“I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today - my own government.... There is something strangely inconsistent about a nation and a press that would praise you when you say, 'Be nonviolent toward Jim Clark,' but will curse and damn you when you say, 'Be nonviolent toward little brown Vietnamese children!' There is something wrong with that press.”

WorldFirstsChildrenLittlesGovernmentTodayNationsVoiceMy OwnViolencePraiseRaisesPressesDamnCurseBrownOppressedWorld TodayGhettoInconsistentVietnameseDamn You
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
Create image

“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day, even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into a oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream 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 content of their character. I have a dream today!”

ChildrenLittlesStatesCharacterDreamTodayAbleTogetherNationsJusticeFourColorSonOne DayRedSkinsTablesSlaveInjusticeOppressionFormerHillsHeatOwnersBrotherhoodJudgedTransformedGeorgiaMississippiOasisSlave OwnersInjustice And Oppression
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
Create image

“The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.”

PeopleTodayRealizingCommunityWhiteDestinyBrotherBoundsTiedMarvelousDistrustOur DestinyTied UpI Have A Dream SpeechMilitancy
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
Create image

“We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity. . . . Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words, 'Too late.' ... Now let us begin. Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter, but beautiful, struggle for a new world.”

WorldLongStillsFactsTodayBeautifulOpportunityLostStruggleWrittenTomorrowCivilizationLateMy FriendsStandingBonesNakedBitterToo LateNew WorldFierceThievesProcrastinationPatheticUrgencyUnfoldingBreaking SilenceConundrumsLost OpportunityDejected
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
Create image

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

LifeInspirationalEndsMatterMotivationalTodayPeaceChangeInspiringSilenceAttitudeOur LivesSocietyGreatnessKingsElectionSilentCivil RightsThis LifeAfrican AmericanMinistersIndifferenceChanging The WorldMaking A DifferenceVotingActivistVotersApathyDayPositive LifeMaking ChangesBlack HistoryComplacencyInsperationalCivil Rights MovementMatter Of FactTaking ActionBaptistsLove HateLives Of OthersCivil SocietyLove And HateAnimal WelfareEnd Of LifeThings That MatterPeace And JusticeAdvocacyI Had A DreamGreat NationsElection DayHuman TraffickingTraffickingHate SpeechBystandersPioneeringLive Life To Its FullestSilence Is GoldenI Have A Dream SpeechKings SpeechSilencingCivil Right MovementDarfurElections And VotingAfrican American Civil RightsInspirational VotingLight Of My LifeGreatest LifeCivil Rights LeadersAction And ChangeWise LifeInfinite HopeOther People's Actions
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
Create image

“One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.”

PeopleInspirationalIdeasTodayFacesSocialChangeChallengesSleepAbilityFailingYouthRevolutionDependsPeriodsSurvivalAwakeChanging The WorldNew IdeasIndifferentStatus QuoSocial ChangeProtectorVigilantFraternityLiabilityNotoriousChallenging Status QuoChallenging The Status QuoSocial Activism
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
Create image

“If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream.”

IfsStillsHelpingDreamTodayMovingHopeLosesInspiringQualityCourageGoes OnMoving OnYour DreamsSpiteFollow Your DreamsVitalityKeep MovingHave CourageHaving HopeChase Your DreamsHopes And DreamsHoping For The BestI Had A DreamHope And FaithDreams You HaveGreat HopeFollowing DreamsFollowing My DreamsNever Lose HopeLiving The DreamHopes DreamsLost HopeLosing HopeNever Stop DreamingHope Courage
Book:The Trumpet of Conscience
Create image

“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there "is" such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and postive action.”

FactsMotivationalTodayActionTomorrowLateToo LateApathyFierceComplacencyUrgencyUnfoldingVigorousSense Of UrgencyConundrumsBefore It's Too Late
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
Create image

“The recent statement of your executive committee are the sentiments of my own heart and I found myself in full accord when I read its opening lines: "A time comes when silence is betrayal." That time has come for us in relation to Vietnam. Some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak. We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak.”

TodayNightFoundSpeakSilenceBreakCallingBetrayalAgonySilence IsVocationBreaking Silence
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
Create image

“I know that love is ultimately the only answer to mankind's problems. And I'm going to talk about it everywhere I go. I know it isn't popular to talk about it in some circles today. I'm not talking about emotional bosh when I talk about love, I'm talking about a strong, demanding love.”

KnowsProblemTodayStrongAnswersLove IsTalkingMankindStrengthEmotionalCirclesNot Talking
Book:The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.:
Create image

“Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism... We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.”

WorldSometimesFactsTodaySpiritLyingAbilityPovertyHeroTomorrowEternalRacismMy FriendsRevolutionaryHeroicFierceHostileHostilityUrgencyDeclaringMilitarismBreaking Silence
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
Create image

“The nation is sick; trouble is in the land, confusion all around...But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century. Something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee, the cry is always the same: 'We want to be free.'”

PeopleKnowsWorldWantEnoughTodayNationsStarsDarkCitiesLibertyTroubleLandCenturyCryNew YorkPeriodsMassHappeningsSickSouthTyrannyConfusionRisingOur WorldNew York CitySouth AfricaTwentieth CenturyGeorgiaMississippiKenyaAtlantaTennesseeMemphisRising UpGhanaJohannesburgNairobiAtlanta GeorgiaJackson Mississippi
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
Create image

“I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction... I believe that even amid today's mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow... I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed.”

BelieveStillsWarTodayI BelieveNationsPeaceAcceptingHellMankindTomorrowOne DayNotionRefuseNuclearCynicalBowsBulletsAltarsBrighterAnnihilationTriumphantSpiralsI Still BelieveBloodshedWhiningMortarStairwaysBrighter Tomorrow
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
Create image

“Let us therefore continue our triumphal march to the realization of the American dream... for all of us today, the battle is in our hands... The road ahead is not altogether a smooth one. There are no broad highways that lead us easily and inevitably to quick solutions... We are still in for the season of suffering... How long? Not long. Because no lie can live forever... our God is marching on.”

LongStillsDreamHandsTodayLyingSufferingForeverBattleSolutionsSeasonsRealizationMarchBroadsAmerican DreamSmoothHighwaysLive ForeverMarching On
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
Create image

“There is little hope for us until we become tough-minded enough to break loose from the shackles of prejudice, half-truths, and downright ignorance. The shape of the world today does not permit us the luxury of soft mindedness. A nation or a civilization that continues to produce soft minded men purchases its own spiritual death on an installment plan.”

MenWorldLittlesDoeEnoughTodaySpiritualNationsHalfBreakPlansProduceIgnoranceCivilizationShapesToughPrejudiceLuxuryPermitWorld TodayShacklesHalf TruthSpiritual Death
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
Create image

“Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. ... We are perhaps the only nation which tried as a matter of national policy to wipe out its indigenous population. Moreover, we elevated that tragic experience into a noble crusade. Indeed, even today we have not permitted ourselves to reject or to feel remorse for this shameful episode.”

FeelsMatterTodayNationsBornRacePolicyOriginalsPopulationNobleDoctrineIndianTragicRejectsGenocideEpisodesInferiorsRemorseIndigenousWipeShamefulCrusades
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
Create image

“Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free.”

YearsLongStillsEndsFactsLightTodayFacesNightChangeMillionsFiveHundredShadowYears AgoSlaveInjusticeFlamesScoreTragicSymbolicJoyousEmancipationDecreeGreat AmericanCaptivityBeaconsProclamationWitheringI Have A Dream SpeechDaybreakLong NightsEmancipation Proclamation
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
Create image

“They asked if our own nation wasn't using massive doses of violence to solve its problems, to bring about the changes it wanted. Their questions hit home, and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today-my own government. For the sake of those boys, for the sake of this government, for the sake of hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence, I cannot be silent.”

IfsWorldFirstsProblemHomeGovernmentTodayWantedNationsVoiceMy OwnBoysViolenceRaisesSilentSakeSolveTyrannyMassiveTyrantsOppressedWorld TodayGhettoDoseTremblingBreaking Silence
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
Create image

“My friends, all I'm trying to say is that if we are to go forward today, we've got to go back and rediscover some mighty precious values that we've left behind. That's the only way that we would be able to make of our world a better world, and to make of this world what God wants it to be and the real purpose and meaning of it.”

IfsWorldWayWantTryingRealWould BeTodayAblePurposeValuesLeftInspiringBehindsThis WorldMy FriendsOur WorldLeft BehindPurpose And Meaning
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
Create image

“Even when the polls are open to all, Negroes have shown themselves too slow to exercise their voting privileges. There must be a concerted effort on the part of Negro leaders to arouse their people from their apathetic indifference.... In the past, apathy was a moral failure. Today, it is a form of moral and political suicide.”

PeopleTodayPastFormPoliticalBlackEffortLeaderMoralExerciseSuicidePrivilegeIndifferenceVotingApathyPollsBlack HistoryApatheticMoral Failure
Book:A Martin Luther King Treasury
Create image