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True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.

— Martin Luther King Jr.

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Source, in full

In a 1955 response to an accusation that he was "disturbing the peace" by his activism during the Montgomery Bus Boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, as quoted in Let the Trumpet Sound : A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr (1982) by Stephen B. Oates

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More quotes by Martin Luther King Jr.

It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or nonexistence.

I've Been to the Mountaintop (1968)

We must combine the toughness of the serpent with the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart.

Strength to Love (1963)

Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

I am not interested in power for power's sake, but I'm interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.

The Civil Sphere (2006)

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All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.

Albert Einstein Moral Decay (1937)

The most disadvantageous peace is better than the most just war.

Erasmus Adagia (1508)

There is a price which is too great to pay for peace, and that price can be put in one word. One cannot pay the price of self-respect.

Woodrow Wilson

To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.

George Washington

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Martin Luther King Jr. (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.