Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes
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If you will protest courageously, and yet with dignity and Christian love, when the history books are written in future generations, the historians will have to pause and say, "There lived a great people-a black people-who injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization.
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If a person sweeps streets for a living, he should sweep them as Michelangelo painted, as Beethoven composed, as Shakespear wrote.
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I am convinced that love is the most durable power in the world. It is not an expression of impractical idealism, but of practical realism.
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If you can't be a sun, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.
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Whenever men and women straighten their backs up, they are going somewhere, because a man can't ride your back unless it is bent.
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Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they can not communicate; they can not communicate because they are separated.
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Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.
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We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.
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Whatever we do, we must keep God in the forefront. Let us be Christian in all of our actions. But I want to tell you this evening that it is not enough for us to talk about love, love is one of the pivotal points of the Christian face, faith. There is another side called justice. And justice is really love in calculation. Justice is love correcting that which revolts against love.
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I became convinced that noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.
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Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.
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It is always the right time to do the right thing.
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If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.
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In any civilized society, it is every citizen's responsibility to obey just laws. But at the same time, it is every citizen's responsibility to disobey unjust laws.
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A time comes when silence is betrayal.
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He (Jesus) knew that the old eye-for-eye philosophy would leave everyone blind. He did not seek to overcome evil with evil. He overcame evil with good. Although crucified by hate, he responded with aggressive love.
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Power properly understood is nothing but the ability to achieve purpose. It is the strength required to bring about social, political and economic change.
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Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.
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Our lives are not fully lived if we're not willing to die for those we love, for what we believe.
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Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.
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Love is creative and redemptive. Love builds up and unites; hate tears down and destroys. The aftermath of the ‘fight with fire’ method...is bitterness and chaos, the aftermath of the love method is reconciliation and creation of the beloved community...Yes , love-which means understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill, even for one’s enemies-is the solution.
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Power is the ability to achieve purpose.
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Carve a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment.
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We aren't going to let any mace stop us. We are masters in our nonviolent movement in disarming police forces; they don't know what to do.