362 quotes
May we solemnly realize that we shall never be true sons of our heavenly Father until we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.
Loving Your Enemies (1957)
There are some things that are as basic and as structural in history, and if we don't know these things, we are in danger of destroying ourselves and our world.
Discerning the Signs of History (1964)
We must follow nonviolence and love.
Give Us the Ballot (1957)
The problem was compounded when unrestrained exploitation and discrimination accented the bewilderment of the newcomer, and high rates of illegitimacy and fragile family relationships resulted.
Family Planning - A Special and Urgent Concern (1966)
Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
Third we must not seek to defeat or humiliate the enemy but to win his friendship and understanding. At times we are able to humiliate our worst enemy.
Loving Your Enemies (1957)
The slums are the handiwork of a vicious system of the white society; Negroes live in them but do not make them any more than a prisoner makes a prison.
The Role of the Behavioral Scientist in the Civil Rights Movement (1967)
In all respects Negroes were atomized, neglected and discriminated against. Yet, the worst omission was the absence of institutions to acclimate them to their new environment.
Family Planning - A Special and Urgent Concern (1966)
It seems to be a fact of life that human beings cannot continue to do wrong without eventually reaching out for some thin rationalization to clothe the obvious wrong in the beautiful garments of righteousness.
Address to Cornell College (1962)
It may be true that morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important also.
Address to Cornell College (1962)
If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands.
Letter from a Birmingham Jail (1963)
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.
The Quest for Peace and Justice (1964)
There is something strangely inconsistent about a nation and a press that would praise you when you say, "Be nonviolent toward Jim Clark," but will curse and damn you when you say, "Be nonviolent toward little brown Vietnamese children." There is something wrong with that press.
Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam (1967)
Now, in order to answer the question, "Where do we go from here?" which is our theme, we must first honestly recognize where we are now.
Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? (1967)
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.
I've Been to the Mountaintop (1968)
How can we live in this universe with a balance and with a type of perspective that keeps us going smoothly and we are not too absorbed in self?
Conquering Self-centeredness (1957)
I happen to be a pacifist but if I had had to make a decision about fighting a war against Hitler, I may have temporarily given up my pacifism and taken up arms.
The Other America (1968)
I must confess that I am not afraid of the word "tension." I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth.
Letter from a Birmingham Jail (1963)
A Christian movement in an age of revolution cannot allow itself to be limited by geographic boundaries. We must be as concerned about the poor in India as we are about the poor of Indiana.
A Christian Movement in a Revolutionary Age (1965)
Back in about 1753 it took a letter three days to go from New York City to Washington, and today you can go from here to China in less time than that... Man's scientific genius has been amazing.