Martin Luther King Jr Day is one of many ways we now remember Dr. King.
Another is our continued admiration of his skill as athought-provokingwordsmith and orator.
MLK is also one of many figureheads whose work is contemplated during Black History Month.
viaBritannica
15 Thought-Provoking MLK Quotes on Justice
Martin Luther King Jr. was a trailblazing activist.
He challenged generations of institutional racism, segregation, and injustice simplythrough the power of words.
And he was not alone in doing so.
The civil rights movement was spearheaded by many black and non-black individuals.
Some backed by hundreds of thousands of supporters, others more quietly remembered.
One individual was the iconic Mahalia Jackson, a singer from New Orleans.
Martin Luther King Jr had previously used the I have a dream phrase in past speeches.
He was advised not to do so againand he wouldnt have if it werent for Mahalia Jackson insisting otherwise.
Strength to Love, 1963
3.
We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.
Letter from a Birmingham Jail, 1963
4.
Make a career of humanity.
Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights.
Speech at the Youth March for Integrated Schools, 1959
5.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate.
Only love can do that.
Strength to Love, 1963
7.
Cornell College, 1962
8.
Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability but comes through continuous struggle.
And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom.
The Dead of Evil upon the Seashore sermon, 1956
9.
Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
Strength to Love, 1963
10.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
We are caught in an inescapable data pipe of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.
Letter from a Birmingham Jail, 1963
11.
Nobel Lecture, 1964
12.
We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.
Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution speech, 1968
13.
We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor.
It must be demanded by the oppressed.
Letter from a Birmingham Jail, 1963
14.
Speech at the Fourth Annual Institute, 1959
15.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now.
Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.
As a black man and activist, he faced intimidation, imprisonment, harassment, and violence.
True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.
Stride Toward Freedom, 1957
17.
Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
I Have A Dream speech, 1963
18.
We will not build a peaceful world by following a negative path.
It is not enough to say, We must not wage war.
It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.
We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but on the positive affirmation of peace.
Nobel Lecture, 1964
19.
Forgiveness is not an occasional act.
It is a permanent attitude.
Love in Action sermon, 1963
20.
The beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold.
Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, 1964
21.
Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power.
We have guided missiles and misguided men.
Strength to Love, 1963
22.
We must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious faith in the future.
Where Do We Go From Here?
speech, 1967
23.
If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional.
Peace on Earth Christmas sermon, 1967
24.
The time is always right to do what is right.
Speech at Oberlin College, 1964
25.
The nonviolent resister not only refuses to shoot his opponent but he also refuses to hate him.
Stride Toward Freedom, 1958
26.
Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon.
His sermons discuss the concept ofagape, the ancient Greek term for unconditional and charitable love of others.
He also spoke of love to those around him.
Below, weve gathered several MLK quotes about love and loving your fellow man:
27.
Love is the greatest force in the universe.
It is the heartbeat of the moral cosmos.
He who loves is a participant in the being of God.
Handwritten note, mid-1960s
28.
Let no man pull you so low as to hate him.
The Most Durable Power sermon, 1956
29.
We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.
Speech at St. Louis University, 1964
30.
I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.
Hate is too great a burden to bear.
I have decided to love.
Where Do We Go From Here?
speech, 1967
32.
There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love.
Letter from a Birmingham Jail, 1963
33.
I know that love is ultimately the only answer to mankinds problems.
Where Do We Go From Here?
speech, 1967
34.
You know, a lot of people dont love themselves.
And they go through life with deep and haunting emotional conflicts.
So the length of life means that you must love yourself.
And you know what loving yourself also means?
It means that youve got to accept yourself.
The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life sermon, 1967
35.
Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.
A Gift of Love, 2012
36.
Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love…violence ends up defeating itself.
It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers.
Nobel Lecture, 1964
37.
We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive.
He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.
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.
A Gift of Love, 2012
38.
Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness.
The Most Durable Power sermon, 1956
39.
Lifes most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others?
Speech in Montgomery, 1957
40.
Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it.
Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it.
Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.
His early writings in a college newspaper and future sermons occasionally explored the importance of education.
Intelligence plus characterthat is the goal of true education.
The Purpose of Education.The Maroon Tiger, 1947
42.
Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve.
You only need a heart full of grace.
A soul generated by love.
The Drum Major Instinct sermon, 1968
43.
The Purpose of Education.
The Maroon Tiger, 1947
44.
Science investigates; religion interprets.
Science gives man knowledge, which is power; religion gives man wisdom, which is control.
Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values.
The two are not rivals.
A Tough Mind and a Tender Heart sermon, 1959
45.
Be careful, brethren!
Be careful, teachers!
The Purpose of Education.The Maroon Tiger, 1947
46.
The Purpose of Education.
He strived to inspire and provoke change not only through wordsbut through action.
What they said and did were in hopes of a better life.
If you cant fly, then run.
Address at Spelman College, 1960
48.
We will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.
I Have A Dream speech, 1963
49.
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
Sermon at Selma, Alabama, 1965
50.
Be a bush if you cant be a tree.
If you cant be a highway, just be a trail.
If you cant be a sun, be a star.
For it isnt by size that you win or fail.
Be the best of whatever you are.
Speech at Glenville High School, 1967
51.
The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life sermon, 1960
52.
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.
Nobel Lecture, 1964.
Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.
Letter from a Birmingham Jail, 1963
54.
We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.
In My Own Words, 2002
55.
One day we will learn that the heart can never be totally right when the head is totally wrong.
Strength to Love, 1963
56.
Where Do We Go From Here?
speech, 1967
57.
Ultimately, a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.
The Domestic Impact of the War in Vietnam speech, 1967
58.
Faith is taking the first step even when you cant see the whole staircase.
Speech at Park-Sheraton Hotel, 1962
59.
The Drum Major Instinct sermon, 1968
60.
Birth of a New Age speech, 1956
61.
His work, and the work of other activists, make up a pivotal part of modern black history.
