INTRODUCTION
Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968), was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African-American civil rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States and he is frequently referenced as a human rights icon today. King is recognized as a martyr by two Christian churches.
A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. There, he raised public consciousness of the civil rights movement and established himself as one of the greatest orators in U.S. history.In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means. By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and opposing the Vietnam War, both from a religious perspective. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. national holiday in 1986.
QUOTES
Q1
There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right.
Q2
There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right.
Q3
We must combine the toughness of the serpent with the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart.
Q4
The chain reaction of evil — hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars — must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.
Q5
Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
Q6
We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.
Q7
We will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
Q8
Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
Q9
I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.
Q10
In every age and every generation, men have envisioned a promised land.
Q11
I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values.
Q12
There is nothing wrong with power if power is used correctly.
Q13
Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.
Q14
I know that love is ultimately the only answer to mankind's problems. And I'm going to talk about it everywhere I go.
Q15
Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.
Q16
Only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.
Q17
It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or nonexistence.
Q18
Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness.
Q19
I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land.
Q20
Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make THIS WORLD what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make THIS WORLD a better Place.
Q21
Q21
Be concerned about your brother. You may not support his actions against human rights. But it's either we go up together, or we go down together.
Q22
Let us refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. Let us refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.
Q23
We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.
Q24
A nation or civilization that continues to produce softminded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.
