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Quote by Martin Luther King, Jr.

“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.”

Quote by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Book:A Martin Luther King Treasury

Work

A Martin Luther King Treasury

This book compiles a selection of Martin Luther King Jr.'s influential speeches and written works, offering a comprehensive view of his contributions to the civil rights movement and his enduring legacy of equality and justice. more

Author

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. was an American civil rights activist known for his nonviolent protest and advocacy for equal rights. His 'I Have a Dream' speech at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 became a significant milestone in the American civil rights movement. more

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“As I like to say to the people in Montgomery: "The tension in this city is not between white people and Negro people. The tension is, at bottom, between justice and injustice, between the forces of light and the forces of darkness.”

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Book:I Have a Dream: The Quotations of Martin Luther King, Jr

Source: I Have a Dream: The Quotations of Martin Luther King, Jr

“There is such a thing as the freedom of exhaustion. Some people are so worn down by the yoke of oppression that they give up. [...] The oppressed must never allow the conscience of the oppressor to slumber. [...] To accept injustice or segregation passively is to say to the oppressor that his actions are morally right.”

People Giving Action Black Accepting Giving Up Conscience Injustice Oppression Worn Oppressed Segregation Black History Exhaustion Oppressors Slumber Yoke

Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.

“I will always remember my delight when Mrs. Georgia Gilmore - an unlettered woman of unusual intelligence - told how an operator demanded that she get off the bus after paying her fare and board it again by the back door, and then drove away before she could get there. She turned to Judge Carter and said: "When they count the money, they do not know Negro money from white money.”

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Book:A Martin Luther King Treasury

Source: A Martin Luther King Treasury

“The problem with hatred and violence is that they intensity the fears of the white majority, and leave them less ashamed of their prejudices toward Negroes.”

Problem Black White Violence Hatred Prejudice Majority Ashamed Intensity Black History

Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.

“[W]e are the heirs of a past of rope, fire, and murder. I for one am not ashamed of this past. My shame is for those who became so inhuman that they could inflict this torture upon us.”

Past Black Fire Murder Shame Torture Ashamed Rope Black History Heirs Inhuman

Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.

“When the Negro was completely an underdog, he needed white spokesmen. Liberals played their parts in this period exceedingly well.... But now that the Negro has rejected his role as an underdog, he has become more assertive in his search for identity and group solidarity; he wants to speak for himself.”

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Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.

“As television beamed the image of this extraordinary gathering across the border oceans, everyone who believed in man's capacity to better himself had a moment of inspiration and confidence in the future of the human race.”

Men Humans Moments Inspiration Race Television Ocean Capacity Extraordinary Borders Human Race Gathering

Book:Why We Can't Wait

Source: Why We Can't Wait

“[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.”

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Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.

“A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up the state's segregation laws was democratically elected?”

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Book:Why We Can't Wait

Source: Why We Can't Wait

“I would be the last to condemn the thousands of sincere and dedicated people outside the churches who have labored unselfishly through various humanitarian movements to cure the world of social evils, for I would rather a man be a committed humanist than an uncommitted Christian.”

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Book:Strength to Love

Source: Strength to Love