Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes
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I imagine you already know that I am much more socialistic in my economic theory than capitalistic.
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A second basic fact that characterizes nonviolence is that it does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent, but to win his friendship and understanding.
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We have deluded ourselves into believing the myth that capitalism grew and prospered out of the Protestant ethic of hard work and sacrifices. Capitalism was built on the exploitation of black slaves and continues to thrive on the exploitation of the poor, both black and white, both here and abroad.
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The principle of nonviolent resistance seeks to reconcile the truths of two opposites-Acquiescence and violence -while avoiding the extremes and immoralities of both.
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True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.
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Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.
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A social movement that only moves people is merely a revolt. A movement that changes both people and institutions is a revolution.
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Is your heart right? If your heart isn't right, fix it up today.
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I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind.
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Every man lives in two realms: the internal and the external. The internal is that realm of spiritual ends expressed in art, literature, morals, and religion. The external is that complex of devices, techniques, mechanisms, and instrumentalities by means of which we live.
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Without love, there is no reason to know anyone, for love will in the end connect us to our neighbors, our children and our hearts.
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Brutality was imprisoned in a lumious glare revealing the naked truth to the whole world.
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I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be.
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We must all learn to live together as brothers. Or we will all perish together as foolsFor some strange reason I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. And you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be.
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I refuse to accept the view . . . that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.
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Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction.
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When we ask Negroes to abide by the law, let us also declare that the white man does not abide by law in the ghettos. Day in and day out he violates welfare laws to deprive the poor of their meager allotments; he flagrantly violates building codes and regulations; his police make a mockery of law; he violates laws on equal employment and education and the provisions of civil services. The slums are the handiwork of a vicious system of the white society; Negroes live in them, but they do not make them, any more than a prisoner makes a prison.
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We must move past indecision to action. We must find new ways to speak for peace in Vietnam and for justice throughout the developing world, a world that borders on our doors. If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.
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We have a great dream. It started way back in 1776, and God grant that America will be true to her dream.
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We must shift the arms race into a 'peace race'.
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Love is creative, understanding goodwill for all men. It is the refusal to defeat any individual.
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My faith in man is, at bottom, a faith in God.
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We must work passionately and indefatigably to bridge the gulf between our scientific progress and our moral progress. One of the great problems of mankind is that we suffer from a poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance. The richer we have become materially, the poorer we have become morally and spiritually.
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The only weapon that we have in our hands this evening is the weapon of protest. That's all.