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Martin Luther King, Jr.

(16 quotes)

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr., (January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968) was an American pastor, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs. He was born Michael King, but his father changed his name in honor of the German reformer Martin Luther. A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957, serving as its first president. With the SCLC, King led an unsuccessful struggle against segregation in Albany, Georgia, in 1962, and organized nonviolent protests in Birmingham, Alabama, that attracted national attention following television news coverage of the brutal police response. King also helped to organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. There, he established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history. On October 14, 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence. In the final years of his life, King expanded his focus to include poverty and speak against the Vietnam War, alienating many of his liberal allies with a 1967 speech titled "Beyond Vietnam".

Tuesday Jul 25, 2023

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Don't let you pull down

Let no man pull you so low
as to hate him.

Wednesday Sep 28, 2022

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Move forward!

If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.

Tuesday Jun 1, 2021

Martin Luther King, Jr.: The first step

Take the first step in faith.
You don't have to see the
whole staircase,
just take the first step.

Friday May 14, 2021

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Looking for happiness

Those who are not looking for happiness are the most likely to find it, because those who are searching forget that the surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others.

Thursday Feb 18, 2021

Martin Luther King, Jr.: What do you prefer; Love or hate?

I have decided to stick with love.
Hate is too great a burden to bear.

Friday Nov 20, 2020

Martin Luther King, Jr.: How to drive out hate

Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
only light can do that.

Hate cannot drive out hate;
only love can do that.

Friday May 15, 2020

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Forgiveness

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.

Wednesday Aug 1, 2018

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Education

Education without morals is like a ship without a compass, merely wandering nowhere.

Wednesday Jul 25, 2018

Martin Luther King, Jr.: A productive and happy life

A productive and happy life
is not something you find;
it is something you make.

Monday Oct 9, 2017

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Good and evil in us

There is some good in the worst of us
and some evil in the best of us.

When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.

Tuesday May 9, 2017

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Every man must decide

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.

Monday Apr 10, 2017

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Everybody can be great

Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.

Wednesday Feb 22, 2017

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Judging people

I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

Monday Jan 16, 2017

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Love

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.

Wednesday Aug 17, 2016

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Darkness and stars

Only in the darkness can you see the stars.

Monday Jan 1, 1900

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Life's most persistent and urgent question

Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'