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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've told the kids in the ghettos that violence won't solve their problems, but then they ask me, and rightly so; "Why does the government use massive doses of violence to bring about the change it wants in the world?" After this I knew that I could no longer speak against the violence in the ghettos without also speaking against the violence of my government.”

WorldWantDoeUseProblemGovernmentKidsAsksSpeakViolenceSolveLibertarianAsk MeMassiveGhettoDose
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers.”

EndsCommunityViolenceImpossibleHatredBrilliantDialogueThriveBitternessSurvivorBrotherhoodImmoralBrutalityPeace And JusticeDestroyersMonologuesJustice And Love
Book:The Wisdom of Martin Luther King, Jr
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“By...our readiness to allow arms to be purchased at will and fired at whim; by allowing our movie and television screens to teach our children that the hero is one who masters the art of shooting and the technique of killing...we have created an atmosphere in which violence and hatred have become popular pastimes.”

ChildrenArtTeachViolenceTelevisionMastersArmsHeroHatredOur ChildrenKillingTechniqueScreensShootingAtmosphereAllowingReadinessWhimPastime
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“There is no easy way to create a world where men and women can live together... But if such a world is created in our lifetime, it will be done by rejecting the racism, materialism, and violence that has characterized Western civilization and especially by working toward a world of brotherhood, cooperation, and peace.”

IfsMenWorldWayDoneTogetherEasyViolenceCivilizationRacismMen And WomenLifetimeWesternMaterialismCooperationBrotherhoodWestern CivilizationRejectingEasy Way
Book:The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.:
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“The way of acquiescence leads to moral and spiritual suicide. The way of violence leads to bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers. But, the way of nonviolence leads to redemption and the creation of the beloved community.”

WaySpiritualCommunityMoralViolenceCreationSuicideRedemptionBelovedBitternessSurvivorNonviolenceBrutalityDestroyersAcquiescenceBeloved Community
Book:In a Single Garment of Destiny
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“It is better to be the recipient of violence than the inflicter of it, since the latter only multiplies the existence of violence and bitterness in the universe, while the former may develop a sense of shame in the opponent, and thereby bring about a transformation and change of heart.”

HeartMayUniverseExistenceViolenceTransformationShameFormerOpponentsLatterBitternessChange Of Heart
Book:In a Single Garment of Destiny
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“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

LightHateBlackCan DoDarknessViolenceKingsHatredCivil RightsHatedLight And DarknessCivil Rights MovementLove HateOnly LoveLove And HatePeace And JusticeLight And DarkPeace JusticeMake Peace Not WarDescendingBlack History MonthDarkness To LightHate SpeechLove Your EnemiesBlack History Month InspirationalAfrican American HistoryKings SpeechLight Of The WorldLight Of LoveKings And LoveGood KingsBlack History InspirationalCivil Right MovementPower And LoveLoving Your EnemiesLight And LoveHatred And LoveSpiritual LightAfrican American InspirationalAfrican American History MonthLight DarkHated LoveAfrican American Civil RightsHatred For LoveSpiritual DarknessLove Not HateDark LifeDefine LoveHate The WorldReturning LovePeople You HateDarkness In Life
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“We've been in the mountain of war. We've been in the mountain of violence. We've been in the mountain of hatred long enough. It is necessary to move on now, but only by moving out of this mountain can we move to the promised land of justice and brotherhood and the Kingdom of God. It all boils down to the fact that we must never allow ourselves to become satisfied with unattained goals. We must always maintain a kind of divine discontent.”

KindLongWarEnoughFactsMovingGoalJusticeViolenceLandDivineMountainHatredSatisfiedKingdomsBrotherhoodKingdom Of GodDiscontentPromised LandMoving Out
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“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.
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“[I]t must be emphasized that nonviolent resistance is not a method for cowards; it does resist. If one uses this method because he is afraid or merely because he lacks the instruments of violence, he is not truly nonviolent. This is why Gandhi often said that if cowardice is the only alternative to violence, it is better to fight.”

IfsDoeSaidUseFightingViolenceMethodInstrumentsResistanceAlternativesCowardCowardiceNonviolent Resistance
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“President Lyndon Johnson's high spirits were marked as he circulated among the many guests whom he had invited to witness an event he confidently felt to be historic, the signing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.... The bill that lay on the polished mahogany desk was born in violence in Selma, Alabama, where a stubborn sheriff... had stumbled against the future.”

SpiritFeltPresidentBornRightsViolenceEventsBillsLaysWitnessVotingGuestsDesksStubbornInvitedHistoricJohnsonSigningPolishedRight To VoteAlabamaSheriffsVoting Rights ActMahoganyPresident Lyndon Johnson
Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
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