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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

“I feel that non-violence is really the only way that we can follow because violence is just so self-defeating. A riot ends up creating many more problems for the negro community than it solved. We can through violence burn down a building, but you can't establish justice. You can murder a murderer, but you can't murder murder through violence. You can murder a hater, but you can't murder hate. And what we're trying to get rid of is hate, injustice, and all of these other things that continue the long night of man's inhumanity to man.”

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Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“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.”

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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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“It's very easy for one talking about violence and hatred for the white man to appeal to [Negro from ghetto]. I have never thought of this, but I think this is quite true, that if, even if you talk to them about nonviolence from a tactical point of view, they can't quite see it because they don't even know they're outnumbered.”

IfsThinkingKnowsMenEasyWhiteViewsTalkingViolenceHatredPoint Of ViewAppealsNonviolenceWhite ManGhettoTactical
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”

MenLoveHumansPeaceViolenceKingsConflictMethodFoundationRevengeCivil RightsAfrican AmericanEvolveRejectsResolutionNonviolenceAggressionSelf DisciplineCivil Rights MovementBaptistsNon ViolenceCriminal MindDisarmamentPeace WarPeace And JusticePeace And LoveConflict ResolutionBeing At PeaceMediationPeace JusticeRetaliationHuman LoveNon ViolentBest RevengeInner ConflictExacting RevengeNobel Peace PrizeHuman CapacityKings SpeechViolence And PeaceKings And LoveCivil Right MovementRevenge Is SweetFoundation Of Love
Book:The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.:
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“Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.”

MenMeanWarSpiritHatePeaceFreedomViolenceRefuseRedemptionInternalsThought ProvokingNonviolenceAvoidingNon ViolencePeace And JusticePeace JusticeHate HimViolence And PeaceAvoiding PainPhysical Violence
Book:I Have a Dream: The Quotations of Martin Luther King, Jr
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“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.”

MeanWarHumanityPeaceGoalViolencePeacefulPeace Of MindOur WorldAnti WarAntiwarFinding PeaceDisarmamentPeace WarGreat WarPeace And JusticePeace And LoveConflict ResolutionPeace And HappinessPeacemakingBeing At PeacePeace JusticePeacefulnessMake Peace Not WarPeaceful WorldAchieving PeaceInternational PeacePeace Not WarPeacekeepingInner Peace And HappinessPeace And SecurityViolence And PeaceWorld Peace DayInternational Peace DayFreedom And PeacePeace Of HeartViolence And WarPeace HarmonyPeace And TolerancePromoting PeaceHarmony And LoveMaintaining Peace
Book:A Time to Break Silence: The Essential Works of Martin Luther King, Jr., for Students
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“Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time: the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”

MenNeedsHumansPoliticalPeaceAnswersMoralViolenceConflictOvercomingMethodFoundationRevengeOppressionEvolveOur TimeRejectsCrucialNonviolenceAggressionNon ViolenceBeing At PeaceRetaliationViolence And PeacePolitical ViolenceFoundation Of Love
Book:The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.:
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“I'm concerned about a better world. I'm concerned about justice; I'm concerned about brotherhood; I'm concerned about truth. And when one is concerned about that, he can never advocate violence. For through violence you may murder a murderer, but you can't murder murder. Through violence you may murder a liar, but you can't establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can't murder hate through violence. Darkness cannot put out darkness; only light can do that.”

WorldMayLightMotivationalHateCan DoJusticeDarknessViolenceConcernedMurderLiarsBrotherhoodMurderer
Book:The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.:
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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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“I cannot make myself believe that God wanted me to hate. I'm tired of violence, I've seen too much of it. I've seen such hate on the faces of too many sheriffs in the South. And I'm not going to let my oppressor dictate to me what method I must use. Our oppressors have used violence. Our oppressors have used hatred. Our oppressors have used rifles and guns. I'm not going to stoop down to their level. I want to rise to a higher level. We have a power that can't be found in Molotov cocktails.”

WantBelieveUseWantedFacesUsedHateFoundLevelsToo MuchViolenceHigherGunHatredMethodTiredSouthOppressorsCocktailsI'm TiredRiflesHigher LevelStoopsSheriffsMolotovMolotov Cocktail
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“If you succumb to the temptation of using violence in the struggle, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate night of bitterness, and your chief legacy to the future will be an endless reign of meaningless chaos.”

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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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“World peace through nonviolent means is neither absurd nor unattainable. All other methods have failed. Thus we must begin anew. Nonviolence is a good starting point. Those of us who believe in this method can be voices of reason, sanity, and understanding amid the voices of violence, hatred, and emotion. We can very well set a mood of peace out of which a system of peace can be built.”

WorldBelieveWellsMeanWarReasonPeaceUnderstandingVoiceEmotionViolenceBuiltHatredMethodStartingMoodAbsurdSanityNonviolenceStarting PointUnattainableVoice Of Reason
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".”

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Book:The Wisdom of Martin Luther King, Jr
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“The end of violence or the aftermath of violence is bitterness. The aftermath of nonviolence is reconciliation and the creation of a beloved community. A boycott is never an end within itself. It is merely a means to awaken a sense of shame within the oppressor but the end is reconciliation, the end is redemption.”

MeanEndsCommunityViolenceCreationShameRedemptionBelovedBitternessNonviolenceReconciliationOppressorsAftermathBoycottBeloved Community
Book:The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.:
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“Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love.”

WayLoveWinningPeaceUnderstandingJusticeViolenceAchieveDestructionHatredOpponentsThriveImmoralSpiralsPeace And JusticePeace JusticeDescendingHumiliateRacial JusticeAchieving PeaceJustice And Love
Book:The Wisdom of Martin Luther King, Jr
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“And violence is impractical, because the old eye for an eye philosophy ends up leaving everybody blind .. It is immoral because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for everybody. Means and ends are inseparable. The means represent the ideal in the making; in the long run of history destructive means cannot bring about constructive ends.”

MeanLongWarEndsPhilosophyEyeRunningViolenceIdealsDestructionBlindLeavingDestructiveLong RunsImmoralConstructiveInseparableSpiralsDescendingEye For An EyeOld Eyes
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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