362 quotes
The best way to solve any problem is to remove the cause.
The Rising Tide of Racial Consciousnes (1960)
True greatness comes not by favoritism, but by fitness.
The Drum Major Instinct (1968)
Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. Indeed, it is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it.
The Quest for Peace and Justice (1964)
Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness.
I've Been to the Mountaintop (1968)
Personality is like a charioteer with two headstrong horses, each wanting to go in different directions.
This country has socialism for the rich, and rugged individualism for the poor.
A riot is at the bottom the language of the unheard.
By its very nature, hate destroys and tears down; by its very nature, love creates and builds up. Love transforms with redemptive power.
Any Christian who blindly accepts the opinions of the majority and in fear and timidity follows a path of expediency and social approval is a mental and spiritual slave.
Strength to Love (1963)
I say to you that our goal is freedom, and I believe we are going to get there because however much she strays away from it, the goal of America is freedom.
Discover the element of good in your enemy. And as you seek to hate him, find the center of goodness and place your attention there and you will take a new attitude.
Loving Your Enemies (1957)
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.
If you have weapons, take them home; if you do not have them, please do not seek to get them. We cannot solve this problem through retaliatory violence.
Let nobody give you the impression that the problem of racial injustice will work itself out. Let nobody give you the impression that only time will solve the problem.
Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution (1965)
As long as the mind is enslaved, the body can never be free. Psychological freedom, a firm sense of self-esteem, is the most powerful weapon against the long night of physical slavery.
Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? (1967)
How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.
How Long, Not Long (1965)
Sometimes I am uncertain, and I must look to God for guidance.
I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard.
The Other America (1968)
Faith is taking the first step, even when you're scared shitless and don't see the whole goddamn staircase.
But there is another way. And that is to organize mass non-violent resistance based on the principle of love.
Loving Your Enemies (1957)