Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Slaves do not always welcome their deliverers. They become accustomed to being slaves. They would rather gear those ills they have
Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power; religion gives man wisdom which is control.
When you have people together who believe in something very strongly - whether it's religion or politics or unions - things happen.
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.
My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure.
A symbol is an important thing. That is why we chose an Aztec eagle. It gives pride...When people see it they know it means dignity.
Don't let anybody make you think that God chose America as his divine, messianic force to be a sort of policeman of the whole world.
There is such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.
Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.
I have a dream! To be free at last! Free at last! Free at last. And if a man has nothing to die for, Then his life is worth nothing.
Education without direction is a one-sided social value. Direct action without education is a meaningless expression of pure energy.
Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.
We need not join the mad rush to purchase an earthly fallout shelter. God is our eternal fallout shelter. From Strength to Love, 1963
True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.
The art of acceptance is the art of making someone who has just done you a small favor wish that he might have done you a greater one.
Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies.
Freedom only comes through persistent revolt, through persistent agitation, through persistently rising up against the system of evil.
It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or nonexistence. That is where we are today.
The oppressed must never allow the conscience of the oppressor to slumber. Religion reminds every man that he is his brother's keeper.
Non-violence exacts a very high price from one who practices it. But once you are able to meet that demand then you can do most things.
If you really want to make a friend, go to someone's house and eat with him... the people who give you their food give you their heart.
The sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.
We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers.
Violence brings only temporary victories; violence, by creating many more social problems than it solves, never brings permanent peace.
So I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!
The whole world must see that Israel must exist and has the right to exist, and is one of the great outposts of democracy in the world.
There is nothing more majestic than the determined courage of individuals willing to suffer and sacrifice for their freedom and dignity.
Organizing is an educational process. The best educational process in the union is the picket line and the boycott. You learn about life.
Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love.
When people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory.
In the current struggle, there is one positive course of action. There is no alternative, for the alternative would connote a rear march.
The non-violent technique does not depend for its success on the goodwill of the oppressor, but rather on the unfailing assistance of God.
Whatever your life's work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.
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.
We must learn that passively to accept an unjust system is to cooperate with that system, and thereby to become a participant in its evil.
The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all men human and, therefore, brothers.
Great people aren't those who are happy at times of convienience and content, but of how they are in times of catastrophy and controversy.
In this Revolution, no plans have been written for retreat. Those who will not get into step will find that the parade has passed them by.
Farm workers are society's canaries. Farm workers - and their children - demonstrate the effects of pesticide poisoning before anyone else.
Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
In our society, it is psychological murder to deprive a man of a job...you are in substance saying to that man "You have no right to exist.
It is a tragic mix-up when the United States spends 500,000 for every enemy soldier killed, and only 53 annually on the victims of poverty.
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.
In order to be true to one's conscience and true to God, a righteous man has no alternative but to refuse to cooperate with an evil system.
I just want to be there in love and in justice and in truth and in commitment to others, so that we can make of this old world a new world.
The contemporary church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch supporter of the status quo.
Capitalism started out with a noble and high motive, but like most human systems it fell victim to the very thing it was revolting against.
Negro leaders sought to negotiate with the city fathers. But the political leaders consistently refused to engage in good-faith negotiation.
Like anybody, I would like to have a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will.