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Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes - Page 39

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The Darwinian concept of the survival of the fittest has been substituted by a philosophy of the survival of the slickest.

The Darwinian concept of the survival of the fittest has been substituted by a philosophy of the survival of the slickest.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Philosophy, Survival, Has Beens
Martin Luther King Jr. (1963). “Strength to Love”

It is purposeless to tell Negroes they should not be enraged when they should be. Indeed, they will be mentally healthier if they do not suppress rage, but vent it constructively and use its energy peacefully but forcefully to cripple the operations of an oppressive society. Civil disobedience can utilize the militance wasted in riots to seize clothes or groceries many do not even want.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Clothes, Energy, Use

Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the struggle for equal rights.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Struggle, Rights, Careers
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2013). “The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I Have a Dream" and Other Great Writings”, p.45, Beacon Press

And when you discover what you will be in your life, set out to do it as if God Almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it. Don't just set out to do a good job.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Jobs, Moments, Good Job

Before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson etched across the pages of history the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence, we were here. 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.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Winning, Independence, Majestic
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2013). “The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I Have a Dream" and Other Great Writings”, p.104, Beacon Press

The words 'bad timing' came to be ghosts haunting our every move in Birmingham. Yet people who used this argument were ignorant of the background of our planning...they did not realize that it was ridiculous to speak of timing when the clock of history showed that the Negro had already suffered one hundred years of delay.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Moving, Years, People
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2011). “Why We Can't Wait”, p.48, Beacon Press

I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds of energies in rehabilitation of its poor as long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suction tube.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Adventure, Men, Skills
Beyond Vietnam -- A Time to Break Silence, Delivered 4 April 1967, Riverside Church, New York City

Though we live in the colony of time, we are ultimately responsible to the empire of eternity.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Empires, Eternity, Responsible
Martin Luther King Jr. (1963). “Strength to Love”

To have peace in the world, men & nations must embrace the nonviolent assertion that ends and means must cohere.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mean, Men, World

Unarmed love is the most powerful force in all the world.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Powerful, Love Is, World
Martin Luther King (Jr.) (2012). “A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love and Other Preachings”, p.150, Beacon Press

Every person must stand up and be accountable, but be responsible for their actions.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Action, Responsible, Being Responsible

I hate it when people quote me on the internet, claiming I said things that I never actually said.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Hate, People, Internet

Once you become dedicated to a cause, personal security is not the goal. What will happen to you personally does not matter. My cause, my race, is worth dying for.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Race, Goal, Dying

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.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Long, Want, Difficult Days
Speech in Memphis, 3 Apr. 1968 (the day before King was assassinated), in New York Times 4 Apr. 1968, p. 24

Whenever men and women straighten their backs up, they are going somewhere, because a man can't ride your back unless it is bent

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Men, Men And Women, Bent
I've Been to the Mountaintop, delivered 3 April 1968, Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters), Memphis, Tennessee

For you will never be what you ought to be until they [your fellow humans] are what they ought to be.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Humans, Ought, Fellows

But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or perhaps even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mean, Use, Moral
"Why We Can't Wait".

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dream, Oasis, Justice
"Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech is the greatest oration of all time" by Sean O'Grady, www.independent.co.uk. April 3, 2018.

There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Running, Men, Despair
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2011). “Why We Can't Wait”, p.60, Beacon Press

The conservatives who say, "Let us not move so fast," and the extremists who say, "Let us go out and whip the world ," would tell you that they are as far apart as the poles. But there is a striking parallel: They accomplish nothing; for they do not reach the people who have a crying need to be free.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Moving, Accomplish Nothing, People
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2011). “Why We Can't Wait”, p.30, Beacon Press

This is the unusual thing about nonviolence -- nobody is defeated, everybody shares in the victory.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Unusual Things, Victory, Defeated

I'm concerned about a better world. I'm concerned about justice; I'm concerned about brotherhood; I'm concerned about truth. And when one is concerned about that, he can never advocate violence. For through violence you may murder a murderer, but you can't murder murder. Through violence you may murder a liar, but you can't establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can't murder hate through violence. Darkness cannot put out darkness; only light can do that.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Motivational, Hate, Liars
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2013). “The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I Have a Dream" and Other Great Writings”, p.204, Beacon Press

But there is another way. And that is to organize mass non-violent resistance based on the principle of love. It seems to me that this is the only way as our eyes look to the future. As we look out across the years and across the generations, let us develop and move right here. We must discover the power of love, the power, the redemptive power of love. And when we discover that we will be able to make of this old world a new world. We will be able to make men better. Love is the only way.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Life, Moving, Eye
"Loving Your Enemies". Sermon by Martin Luther King, Jr. at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama, November 17, 1957.

Jazz speaks for life. This is triumphant music.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Music, Jazz, Speak

"I criticize America because I love her. I want her to stand as a moral example to the world."

Martin Luther King, Jr.
America, Patriotism, Criticism

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