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There Are Two Types Of Laws: There Are Just Laws And There Are Unjust Laws... What Is The Difference Between The Two?...an Unjust Law Is A Man-made Code That Is Out Of Harmony With The Moral Law.

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

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There Are Two Types

Martin Luther King, Jr.

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There Are Two Types Of Laws: There Are Just Laws And There Are Unjust Laws... What Is The Difference Between The Two?...an Unjust Law Is A Man-made Code That Is Out Of Harmony With The Moral Law.

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In Some Not Too Distant Tomorrow The Radiant Stars Of Love And Brotherhood Will Shine Over Our Great Nation With All Their Scintillating Beauty.

Nonviolence Is Absolute Commitment To The Way Of Love. Love Is Not Emotional Bash; It Is Not Empty Sentimentalism. It Is The Active Outpouring Of One's Whole Being Into The Being Of Another.

Many Of The Ugly Pages Of American History Have Been Obscured And Forgotten. A Society Is Always Eager To Cover Misdeeds With A Cloak Of Forgetfulness, But No Society Can Fully Repress An Ugly Past When The Ravages Persist Into The Present. America Owes A Debt Of Justice Which It Has Only Begun To Pay. If It Loses The Will To Finish Or Slackens In Its Determination, History Will Recall Its Crimes And The Country That Would Be Great Will Lack The Most Indispensable Element Of Greatness — Justice.

The Quality, Not The Longevity, Of One's Life Is What Is Important.

People Are Often Led To Causes And Often Become Committed To Great Ideas Through Persons Who Personify Those Ideas. They Have To Find The Embodiment Of The Idea In Flesh And Blood In Order To Commit Themselves To It.

Jazz Speaks For Life. This Is Triumphant Music.

I Have A Dream That One Day, Down In Alabama, With Its Vicious Racists, With Its Governor Having His Lips Dripping With The Words Of "interposition" And "nullification" - One Day Right There In Alabama Little Black Boys And Black Girls Will Be Able To Join Hands With Little White Boys And White Girls As Sisters And Brothers.

Let Us Be Practical And Ask The Question: How Do We Love Our Enemies?

Love Your Enemies

We Know Of No More Crucial Civil Rights Issue Facing Congress Today Than The Need To Increase The Federal Minimum Wage And Extend Its Coverage.

The Non-violent Resistor Not Only Avoids External, Physical Violence, But He Avoids Internal Violence Of Spirit. He Not Only Refuses To Shoot His Opponent, But He Refuses To Hate Him. And He Stands With Understanding, Goodwill At All Times.

The Universe Is On The Side Of Justice

God Made The World From Nothing, And If We Can Be Nothing, Then God Can Make Something Of Us.

The Darwinian Concept Of The Survival Of The Fittest Has Been Substituted By A Philosophy Of The Survival Of The Slickest.

The Only Time People Do Not Like Praise Is When Too Much Of It Is Going Toward Someone Else.

Truth Is Not To Be Found Either In Traditional Capitalism Or In Marxism. Each Represents A Partial Truth. Historically, Capitalism Failed To Discern The Truth In Collective Enterprise And Marxism Failed To See The Truth In Individual Enterprise.

I'm Grateful To God That, Through The Negro Church, The Dimension Of Nonviolence Entered Our Struggle.

A Religion True To Its Nature Must Also Be Concerned About Man's Social Conditions....a Ny Religion That Professes To Be Concerned With The Souls Of Men And Is Not Concerned With The Slums That Damn Them, The Economic Conditions That Strangle Them, And The Social Conditions That Cripple Them Is A Dry-as-dust Religion.

Was Not Jesus An Extremist For Love: "love Your Enemies, Bless Them That Curse You, Do Good To Them That Hate You, And Pray For Them Which Despitefully Use You, And Persecute You." Was Not Amos An Extremist For Justice: "let Justice Roll Down Like Waters And Righteousness Like An Ever-flowing Stream." Was Not Paul An Extremist For The Christian Gospel: "i Bear In My Body The Marks Of The Lord Jesus."

Hatred Paralyzes Life; Love Releases It.

The Group Consisting Of Mother, Father And Child Is The Main Educational Agency Of Mankind.

Somewhere Somebody Must Have Some Sense. Men Must See That Force Begets Force, Hate Begets Hate, Toughness Begets Toughness. And It Is All A Descending Spiral, Ultimately Ending In Destruction For All And Everybody. Somebody Must Have Sense Enough And Morality Enough To Cut Off The Chain Of Hate And The Chain Of Evil In The Universe. And You Do That By Love.

The Sooner Our Society Admits That The Negro Revolution Is No Momentary Outburst Soon To Subside Into Placid Passivity, The Easier The Future Will Be For Us All.

The Contemporary Church Is So Often A Weak, Ineffectual Voice With An Uncertain Sound. It Is So Often The Arch Supporter Of The Status Quo.

Something Should Remind Us Once More That The Great Things In This Universe Are Things That We Never See.

We Have A Great Dream. It Started Way Back In 1776, And God Grant That America Will Be True To Her Dream.

That Old Law About 'an Eye For An Eye' Leaves Everybody Blind. The Time Is Always Right To Do The Right Thing.

The Recent Statement Of Your Executive Committee Are The Sentiments Of My Own Heart And I Found Myself In Full Accord When I Read Its Opening Lines: "a Time Comes When Silence Is Betrayal." That Time Has Come For Us In Relation To Vietnam. Some Of Us Who Have Already Begun To Break The Silence Of The Night Have Found That The Calling To Speak Is Often A Vocation Of Agony, But We Must Speak. We Must Speak With All The Humility That Is Appropriate To Our Limited Vision, But We Must Speak.

The Strong Man Holds In A Living Blend Strongly Marked Opposites. The Idealists Are Not Usually Realistic, And The Realists Are Not Usually Idealistic. The Militant Are Not Generally Known To Be Passive, Nor The Passive To Be Militant. Seldom Are The Humble Self-assertive, Or The Self-assertive Humble. But Life At It's Best Is A Creative Synthesis Of Opposites In Fruitful Harmony.

Lightning Makes No Sound Until It Strikes.

War Is A Poor Chisel To Carve Out Tomorrow.

[i] Know That Love Is Ultimately The Only Answer To Mankind's Problems.

Nothing Is So Much Needed As A Secure Family Life For A People Seeking To Rise Out Of Poverty And Backwardness.

We May Have All Come On Different Ships, But We're In The Same Boat Now.

The Holy Passion Of Friendship Is Of So Sweet And Steady And Loyal And Enduring A Nature That It Will Last Through A Whole Lifetime, If Not Asked To Lend Money In The End, We Will Remember Not The Words Of Our Enemies, But The Silence Of Our Friends

My Soul Is Too Glad And Too Great To Be At Heart The Enemy Of Any Man

Unfortunately, Most Of The Major Denominations Still Practice Segregation In Local Churches, Hospitals, Schools, And Other Church Institutions. It Is Appalling That The Most Segregated Hour Of Christian America Is Eleven O'clock On Sunday Morning, The Same Hour When Many Are Standing To Sing: "in Christ There Is No East Nor West.

If I Were Constantly Worried About Death, I Couldn't Function. After A While, If Your Life Is More Or Less Constantly In Peril, You Come To A Point Where You Accept The Possibility Philosophically.

The End Of Life Is Not To Be Happy, Nor To Achieve Pleasure And Avoid Pain, But To Do The Will Of God, Come What May.

People With Good Intentions But Limited Understanding Are More Dangerous Than People With Total Ill Will.

[nonviolence] Is Directed Against Forces Of Evil Rather Than Against Persons Who Happen To Be Doing The Evil. It Is Evil That The Nonviolent Resister Seeks To Defeat, Not The Persons Victimized By Evil.

I Am What I Am Because Of Who We All Are.

Even If Our Motives Are Presently Misunderstood. We Will Reach The Goal Of Freedom In Birmingham And All Over The Nation, Because The Goal Of America Is Freedom.

We Must Have Our Freedom Now. We Must Have The Right To Vote. We Must Have Equal Protection Of The Law.

There Can Be No Deep Disappointment Where There Is Not Deep Love.

In This World Is A God Whose Matchless Strength Is A Fit Contrast To The Sordid Weakness Of Man.

The Whole World Must See That Israel Must Exist And Has The Right To Exist, And Is One Of The Great Outposts Of Democracy In The World.

Our Nation Was Born In Genocide When It Embraced The Doctrine That The Original American, The Indian, Was An Inferior Race. ... We Are Perhaps The Only Nation Which Tried As A Matter Of National Policy To Wipe Out Its Indigenous Population. Moreover, We Elevated That Tragic Experience Into A Noble Crusade. Indeed, Even Today We Have Not Permitted Ourselves To Reject Or To Feel Remorse For This Shameful Episode.

Your Self-image Should Not Come From The Job You Do But From How Well You Do Your Job.

Agape Is Disinterested Love. . . . Agape Does Not Begin By Discriminating Between Worthy And Unworthy People, Or Any Qualities People Possess. It Begins By Loving Others For Their Sakes. . . . Therefore, Agape Makes No Distinction Between Friend And Enemy; It Is Directed Toward Both.

The Hope Of A Secure And Livable World Lies With Disciplined Nonconformists, Who Are Dedicated To Justice, Peace And Brotherhood. The Trailblazers In Human, Academic, Scientific And Religious Freedom Have Always Been Nonconformists. In Any Cause That Concerns The Progress Of Mankind, Put Your Faith In The Nonconformist!

If You Want To Be Important-wonderful. If You Want To Be Recognized-wonderful. If You Want To Be Great-wonderful. But Recognize That He Who Is Greatest Among You Shall Be Your Servant. That's A New Definition Of Greatness.

Of All The Forms Of Inequality, Injustice In Health Care Is The Most Shocking And Inhumane.

They Were Too God-intoxicated To Be "astronomically Intimidated." They Brought An End To Such Ancient Evils As Infanticide And Gladiatorial Contest.

Use Me, God. Show Me How To Take Who I Am, Who I Want To Be, And What I Can Do, And Use It For A Purpose Greater Than Myself.

There Comes A Time When A Moral Man Can't Obey A Law Which His Conscience Tells Him Is Unjust.

Libertarian Party

Mankind's Survival Is Dependent On Man's Ability To Solve The Problems Of Racial Injustice, Poverty, And War; The Solution Of These Problems Is In Turn Dependent Upon Man's Squaring His Moral Progress With His Scientific Progress, And Learning The Practical Art Of Living In Harmony.

Justice Too Long Delayed Is Justice Denied.

One Of The Greatest Casualties Of The War In Vietnam Is The Great Society... Shot Down On The Battlefield Of Vietnam.

The Road To Freedom Is A Difficult, Hard Road. It Always Makes For Temporary Setbacks.

Temporary Setbacks

There Are Some Things Concerning Which We Must Always Be Maladjusted If We Are To Be People Of Good Will. We Must Never Adjust Ourselves To Racial Segregation. We Must Never Adjust Ourselves To Religious Bigotry. We Must Never Adjust Ourselves To Economic Conditions That Take Necessities From The Many To Give Luxuries To The Few.

Are You Able To Accept Blows Without Retaliating?" And "are You Able To Endure The Ordeals Of Jail?"

We Must All Learn To Live Together As Brothers. Or We Will All Perish Together As Foolsfor Some Strange Reason I Can Never Be What I Ought To Be Until You Are What You Ought To Be. And You Can Never Be What You Ought To Be Until I Am What I Ought To Be.

Life's Most Persistent And Urgent Question Is: What Are You Doing For Others? Living Is A Form Of Not Being Sure, Not Knowing What Next Or How. The Moment You Know How, You Begin To Die A Little.

There Is Nothing In All The World Greater Than Freedom. It Is Worth Paying For; It Is Worth Going To Jail For. I Would Rather Be A Free Pauper Than A Rich Slave. I Would Rather Die In Abject Poverty With My Convictions Than Live In Inordinate Riches With The Lack Of Self Respect.

Pity May Represent Little More Than The Impersonal Concern Which Prompts The Mailing Of A Check, But True Sympathy Is The Personal Concern Which Demands The Giving Of One's Soul.

If A City Has A 30% Negro Population, Then It Is Logical To Assume That Negroes Should Have At Least 30% Of The Jobs In Any Particular Company, And Jobs In All Categories Rather Than Only In Menial Areas.

If We Are To Go Forward, We Must Go Back And Rediscover These Precious Values - That All Reality Hinges On Moral Foundations And That All Reality Has Spiritual Control.

African American

We Will Not Be Satisfied Until Justice Rolls Down Like Waters.

I Have A Dream Speech

I Want To Suggest Some Of The Things That Should Begin Your Life's Blueprint. Number One...should Be A Deep Belief In Your Own Dignity. Your Worth And Your Own Somebodiness... Always Feel That You Count. Always Feel That You Have Worth, And Always Feel That Your Life Has Ultimate Significance.

Everybody Can Be Great...because Anybody Can Serve. You Don't Have To Have A College Degree To Serve. You Don't Have To Make Your Subject And Verb Agree To Serve. You Only Need A Heart Full Of Grace. A Soul Generated By Love.

There Is Nothing But A Lack Of Social Vision To Prevent Us From Paying An Adequate Wage To Every American Citizen Whether He Be A Hospital Worker, Laundry Worker, Maid Or Day Laborer

But I Know, Somehow, That Only When It Is Dark Enough, Can You See The Stars.

You Cannot Defect Form An Insight. You Cannot Unsee What You Have Seen.

The Ultimate Measure Of A Man Is Not Where He Stands In Moments Of Comfort And Convenience, But Where He Stands At Times Of Challenge And Controversy. Nothing Worthwhile Is Easy. Your Ability To Overcome Unfavorable Situations Will Provide You With Time To Demonstrate Your True Strength And Determination For Success. Always Set Your Standards High, Your Greatest Achievements Lie Within The Infinite Feats You Achieve In Your Life.

I Refuse To Accept The Idea That Man Is Mere Flotsam And Jetsam In The River Of Life, Unable To Influence The Unfolding Events Which Surround Him.

There Are Two Types Of Laws: There Are Just Laws And There Are Unjust Laws... What Is The Difference Between The Two?...an Unjust Law Is A Man-made Code That Is Out Of Harmony With The Moral Law.

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.

Today We Know With Certainty That Segregation Is Dead. The Only Question Remaining Is How Costly Will Be The Funeral.

[malcolm X] Had Said A Great Deal About Nonviolence, Criticizing Nonviolence, And Saying That I Approved Of Negro Men And Women Being Bitten By Dogs And The Fire Hoses, And I Say, Say Go On And Not Defend Yourself. I Think This Kind Of Response Grew Out Of The Build Up, All Of The Talk About My Being A Sort Of Polished Uncle Tom.

The Great Military Leaders Of The Past Have Gone, Their Empires Have Crumbled And Burned To Ashes. But The Empire Of Jesus, Built Solidly And Majestically On The Foundation Of Love, Is Still Growing.

Unity Has Never Meant Uniformity.

I Have Almost Reached The Regrettable Conclusion That The Negro's Great Stumbling Block In The Stride Toward Freedom Is Not The White Citizens Councilor Or The Ku Klux Klanner But The White Moderate Who Is More Devoted To Order Than To Justice; Who Prefers A Negative Peace Which Is The Absence Of Tension To A Positive Peace Which Is The Presence Of Justice.

Never Before Have I Written So Long A Letter. I'm Afraid It Is Much Too Long To Take Your Precious Time. I Can Assure You That It Would Have Been Much Shorter If I Had Been Writing From A Comfortable Desk, But What Else Can One Do When He Is Alone In A Narrow Jail Cell, Other Than Write Long Letters, Think Long Thoughts, And Pray Long Prayers?

The Question Is Not Whether We Will Be Extremists, But What Kind Of Extremists We Will Be... The Nation And The World Are In Dire Need Of Creative Extremists.

If I Hit You And You Hit Me And I Hit You Back And You Hit Me Back And Go On, You See, That Goes On Ad Infinitum. It Just Never Ends. Somewhere Somebody Must Have A Little Sense, And That's The Strong Person.

President Lyndon Johnson's High Spirits Were Marked As He Circulated Among The Many Guests Whom He Had Invited To Witness An Event He Confidently Felt To Be Historic, The Signing Of The 1965 Voting Rights Act.... The Bill That Lay On The Polished Mahogany Desk Was Born In Violence In Selma, Alabama, Where A Stubborn Sheriff... Had Stumbled Against The Future.

Love Has Within It A Redemptive Power. And There Is A Power There That Eventually Transforms Individuals. Just Keep Being Friendly To That Person. Just Keep Loving Them, And They Can't Stand It Too Long. Oh, They React In Many Ways In The Beginning. They React With Guilt Feelings, And Sometimes They'll Hate You A Little More At That Transition Period, But Just Keep Loving Them. And By The Power Of Your Love They Will Break Down Under The Load. That's Love, You See. It Is Redemptive.

The Law Of "an Eye For An Eye" Will Eventually Leave Everyone Blind.

Science Investigates, Religion Interprets. Science Gives Man Knowledge Which Is Power, Religion Gives Man Wisdom Which Is Control. Science Deals Mainly With Facts, Religion Deals With Values. The Two Are Not Rivals. They Are Complementary.

Man Must Never Be Treated As A Means To The End Of The State, But Always As An End Within Himself.

Love Even For Enemies Is The Key To The Solution Of The Problems Of Our World.

O America, How You've Taken Necessities From The Masses To Give Luxuries To The Classes.

The Choice Is Not Between Violence And Nonviolence But Between Nonviolence And Nonexistence.

We Must Learn To Live Together As Brothers Or Perish Together As Fools.

You Have To Keep Moving Forward

Keep Moving Forward

The Soft-minded Man Always Fears Change. He Feels Security In The Status Quo, And He Has An Almost Morbid Fear Of The New. For Him, The Greatest Pain Is The Pain Of A New Idea.

Power Is Love Implementing The Demands Of Justice. Justice Is Love Correcting Everything That Goes Against Love.

So Let Freedom Ring From The Prodigious Hilltops Of New Hampshire.

I Have A Dream Speech

The Oppressed Must Never Allow The Conscience Of The Oppressor To Slumber. Religion Reminds Every Man That He Is His Brother's Keeper.

Even If They Try To Kill You, You Develop The Inner Conviction That There Are Some Things So Precious, Some Things So Eternally True That They Are Worth Dying For. And If A Person Has Not Found Something To Die For, That Person Isn't Fit To Live!

In The Current Struggle, There Is One Positive Course Of Action. There Is No Alternative, For The Alternative Would Connote A Rear March.

I Think That We've Got To Come To See This. The Negro Is An American.

I Won't Have Any Money To Leave Behind. I Won't Have The Fine And Luxurious Things Of Life To Leave Behind. But I Just Want To Leave A Committed Life Behind.

As Television Beamed The Image Of This Extraordinary Gathering Across The Border Oceans, Everyone Who Believed In Man's Capacity To Better Himself Had A Moment Of Inspiration And Confidence In The Future Of The Human Race.

A Strong Man Must Be Militant As Well As Moderate. He Must Be A Realist As Well As An Idealist.

Is Is Always Time To Do The Right Thing.

A Society Is Always Eager To Cover Misdeeds With A Cloak Of Forgetfulness, But No Society Can Fully Repress An Ugly Past When The Ravages Persist Into The Present. America Owes A Debt Of Justice Which It Has Only Begun To Pay.

A Genuine Leader Is Not A Searcher For Consensus But A Molder Of Consensus.

It Is Love That Will Save Our World And Our Civilization.

Every Nation Must Now Develop An Overriding Loyalty To Mankind As A Whole In Order To Preserve The Best In Their Individual Societies.

Now Is The Time To Make Justice A Reality For All Of God's Children.

The Failures Of The Past Must Not Be An Excuse For The Inaction Of The Present And The Future.

Every Man Must Decide Whether He Will Walk In The Light Of Creative Altruism Or In The Darkness Of Destructive Selfishness.

I May Be Crucified For My Beliefs And, If I Am, You Can Say, "he Died To Make Men Free.

I Hate It When People Quote Me On The Internet, Claiming I Said Things That I Never Actually Said.

There Is Such A Thing As Being Too Late. This Is No Time For Apathy Or Complacency. This Is A Time For Vigorous And Positive Action.

The Most Dangerous Criminal May Be The Man Gifted With Reason, But With No Morals.

As A Young Man With Most Of My Life Ahead Of Me, I Decided Early To Give My Life To Something Eternal And Absolute. Not To These Little Gods That Are Here Today And Gone Tomorrow. But To God Who Is The Same Yesterday, Today, And Forever.

We Are Faced With The Fact, My Friends, That Tomorrow Is Today. Procrastination Is Still The Thief Of Time. Over The Bleached Bones And Jumbled Residues Of Numerous Civilizations Are Written The Pathetic Words ‘too Late’.

Procrastination

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.

A Piece Of Freedom Is No Longer Enough For Human Beings...unlike Bread, A Slice Of Liberty Does Not Finish Hunger. Freedom Is Like Life. It Cannot Be Had In Installments. Freedom Is Indivisible--we Have It All, Or We Are Not Free.

It Is A Sad Fact That Because Of Comfort, Complacency, A Morbid Fear Of Communism, And Our Proneness To Adjust To Injustice, The Western Nations That Initiated So Much Of The Revolutionary Spirit Of The Modern World Have Now Become The Arch-antirevolutionaries.

Breaking Silence

But By All Means, Keep Moving.

And Violence Is Impractical, Because The Old Eye For An Eye Philosophy Ends Up Leaving Everybody Blind .. It Is Immoral Because It Is A Descending Spiral Ending In Destruction For Everybody. Means And Ends Are Inseparable. The Means Represent The Ideal In The Making; In The Long Run Of History Destructive Means Cannot Bring About Constructive Ends.

Seeing Is Not Always Believing.

The Ultimate Tragedy Is Not The Oppression And Cruelty By The Bad People But The Silence Over That By The Good People.

We Must Build Dikes Of Courage To Hold Back The Flood Of Fear. That Old Law About "an Eye For An Eye" Leaves Everybody Blind... The Time Is Always Right To Do The Right Thing. Peace Is Not Merely A Distant Goal That We Seek, But A Means By Which We Arrive At That Goal.

If Our Economic System Is To Survive, There Has To Be A Better Distribution Of Wealth ... We Can't Have A System Where Some People Live In Superfluous, Inordinate Wealth, While Others Live In Abject Deadening Poverty.

Distribution Of Wealth

America Has Given The Negro People A Bad Check, A Check Which Has Come Back Marked 'insufficient Funds.'

I Have A Dream Speech

We Ain't Goin' Study War No More.

We've Learned To Fly The Air Like Birds, We've Learned To Swim The Seas Like Fish, And Yet We Haven't Learned To Walk The Earth As Brothers And Sisters

The White Poor Also Suffer Deprivation And The Humiliation Of Poverty If Not Of Color. They Are Chained By The Weight Of Discrimination Though Its Badge Of Degradation Does Not Mark Them. It Corrupts Their Lives, Frustrates Their Opportunities And Withers Their Education. In One Sense It Is More Evil For Them Because It Has Confused So Many By Prejudice That They Have Supported Their Own Oppressors.

But We Refuse To Believe That The Bank Of Justice Is Bankrupt. We Refuse To Believe That There Are Insufficient Funds In The Great Vaults Of Opportunity Of This Nation.

Cowardice Asks The Question, Is It Safe?

What Is More Tragic Than To See A Person Who Has Risen To The Disciplined Heights Of Tough-mindedness But Has At The Same Time Sunk To The Passionless Depths Of Hard-heartedness?

Jesus Is Not An Impractical Idealist; He Is The Practical Realist.

One Day The Absurdity Of The Almost Universal Human Belief In The Slavery Of Other Animals Will Be Palpable. We Shall Then Have Discovered Our Souls And Become Worthier Of Sharing This Planet With Them.

Every Man Is Somebody Because He Is A Child Of God.

When People Get Caught Up With That Which Is Right And They Are Willing To Sacrifice For It, There Is No Stopping Point Short Of Victory.

We Have Also Come To This Hallowed Spot To Remind America Of The Fierce Urgency Of Now. This Is No Time To Engage In The Luxury Of Cooling Off Or To Take The Tranquilizing Drug Of Gradualism. Now Is The Time To Make Real The Promises Of Democracy

There Is No Easy Way To Create A World Where Men And Women Can Live Together... But If Such A World Is Created In Our Lifetime, It Will Be Done By Rejecting The Racism, Materialism, And Violence That Has Characterized Western Civilization And Especially By Working Toward A World Of Brotherhood, Cooperation, And Peace.

I've Always Tried To Be What I Call Militantly Nonviolent. I Don't Believe That Anyone Could Seriously Accuse Me Of Not Being Totally Committed To The Breakdown Of Segregation.

I'll Tell You, I've Seen The Lightning Flash. I've Heard The Thunder Roll. I Felt Sin-breakers Dashing, Trying To Conquer My Soul. But I Heard The Voice Of Jesus Saying Still To Fight On.

The Marvelous New Militancy Which Has Engulfed The Negro Community Must Not Lead Us To A Distrust Of All White People, For Many Of Our White Brothers, As Evidenced By Their Presence Here Today, Have Come To Realize That Their Destiny Is Tied Up With Our Destiny And Their Freedom Is Inextricably Bound To Our Freedom.

The Ultimate Weakness Of Violence Is That It Is A Descending Spiral, Begetting The Very Thing It Seeks To Destroy. Instead Of Diminishing Evil, It Multiplies It. Through Violence You May Murder The Liar, But You Cannot Murder The Lie, Nor Establish The Truth. Through Violence You May Murder The Hater, But You Do Not Murder Hate. In Fact, Violence Merely Increases Hate... Darkness Cannot Drive Out Darkness: Only Light Can Do That. Hate Cannot Drive Out Hate: Only Love Can Do That.

One Day We Will Learn That The Heart Can Never Be Totally Right When The Head Is Totally Wrong

There Is Nothing More Majestic Than The Determined Courage Of Individuals Willing To Suffer And Sacrifice For Their Freedom And Dignity.

To Be Negro In America Is To Hope Against Hope.

When We Rise In The Morning... At The Table We Drink Coffee Which Is Provided To Us By A South American, Or Tea By A Chinese, Or Cocoa By A West African; Before We Leave For Our Jobs We Are Already Beholden To More Than Half The World.

Any Nation Or Government That Deprives An Individual Of Freedom Is In That Moment Committing An Act Of Moral And Spiritual Murder. Any Individual Who Is Not Concerned About His Freedom Commits An Act Of Moral And Spiritual Suicide.

The Decision We Must Make Now Is Whether We Will Give Our Allegiance To Outmoded And Unjust Customs Or To The Ethical Demands Of The Universe. As Christians We Owe Our Allegiance To God And His Will, Rather Than To Man And His Folkways

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.

The Use Of Violence In Our Struggle Would Be Both Impractical And Immoral. To Meet Hate With Retaliatory Hate Would Do Nothing But Intensify The Existence Of Evil In The Universe. Hate Begets Hate; Violence Begets Violence; Toughness Begets A Greater Toughness. We Must Meet The Forces Of Hate With The Power Of Love; We Must Meet Physical Force With Soul Force. Our Aim Must Never Be To Defeat Or Humiliate The White Man, But To Win His Friendship And Understanding.

The Ultimate Measure Of A Man Is Not Where He Stands In Moments Of Comfort And Convenience, But Where He Stands At Times Of Challenge And Controversy.

Power Is The Ability To Achieve Purpose.

Hate Destroys The Very Structure Of The Personality Of The Hater.

A Time Comes When Silence Is Betrayal.

I Cannot Forget That The Nobel Prize For Peace Was Also A Commission - A Commission To Work Harder Than I Had Ever Worked Before For "the Brotherhood Of Man".

Brotherhood Of Man

You See, My Friends...you Begin To Ask The Questions, 'who Owns The Oil?' You Begin To Ask The Question, 'who Owns The Iron Ore?' You Begin To Ask The Question, 'why Is It That People Have To Pay Water Bills In A World That Is Two-thirds Water?'

We Live In A World Of Guided Missiles And Misguided Men.

The Purpose Of Direct Action Is To Create A Situation So Crisis-packed That It Will Inevitably Open The Door To Negotiation.

By Nonviolent Resistance, The Negro Can Also Enlist All Men Of Good Will In His Struggle For Equality.

We In The West Must Bear In Mind That The Poor Countries Are Poor Primarily Because We Have Exploited Them Through Political Or Economic Colonialism.

Individuals May See The Moral Light And Voluntarily Give Up Their Unjust Posture; But, As Reinhold Niebuhr Has Reminded Us, Groups Are More Immoral Than Individuals.

There Is No Sound More Powerful Than The Marching Feet Of A Determined People.

Hate Destroys The Hater.

The Ultimate Solution To The Race Problem Lies In The Willingness Of Men To Obey The Unenforceable.

I Never Intend To Adjust Myself To The Madness Of Militarism.

Those Who Are Not Looking For Happiness Are The Most Likely To Find It, Because Those Who Are Searching Forget That The Surest Way To Be Happy Is To Seek Happiness For Others.

I Want To Be The White Man's Brother, Not His Brother-in-law.

We Must Move Past Indecision To Action. We Must Find New Ways To Speak For Peace In Vietnam And For Justice Throughout The Developing World, A World That Borders On Our Doors. If We Do Not Act, We Shall Surely Be Dragged Down The Long, Dark, And Shameful Corridors Of Time Reserved For Those Who Possess Power Without Compassion, Might Without Morality, And Strength Without Sight.

We've Got Some Difficult Days Ahead. But It Doesn't Matter With Me Now. Because I've Been To The Mountaintop. And I Don't Mind. Like Anybody, I Would Like To Live A Long Life. Longevity Has Its Place. But I'm Not Concerned About That Now. I Just Want To Do God's Will. And He's Allowed Me To Go Up To The Mountaintop. And I've Looked Over. And I've Seen The Promised Land.

I Am Thankful, However, That Some Of Our White Brothers Have Grasped The Meaning Of This Social Revolution And Committed Themselves To It. They Are Still All Too Small In Quantity, But They Are Big In Quality.

It's Not How Long A Man Lives, But How Well He Uses The Time Allotted Him.

Freedom Only Comes Through Persistent Revolt, Through Persistent Agitation, Through Persistently Rising Up Against The System Of Evil.

I Could Never Adjust To The Separate Waiting Rooms, Separate Eating Places, Separate Rest Rooms, Partly Because The Separate Was Always Unequal, And Partly Because The Very Idea Of Separation Did Something To My Sense Of Dignity And Self-respect.

Returning Violence For Violence Multiplies Violence, Adding Deeper Darkness To A Night Already Devoid Of Stars.

Philanthropy Is Commendable, But It Must Not Cause The Philanthropist To Overlook The Circumstances Of Economic Injustice Which Make Philanthropy Necessary.

A Time Comes When Silence Is Betrayal. That Time Has Come For Us In Relation To Vietnam. A Nation That Continues Year After Year To Spend More Money On Military Defense Than On Programs Of Social Uplift, Is Approaching Spiritual Death.i Knew That America Would Never Invest The Necessary Funds Or Energies In Rehabilitation Of Its Poor So Long As Adventures Like Vietnam Continued To Draw Men And Skills And Money Like Some Demonic Destructive Suction Tube. So I Was Increasingly Compelled To See The War As An Enemy Of The Poor.

I Have A Dream! To Be Free At Last! Free At Last! Free At Last. And If A Man Has Nothing To Die For, Then His Life Is Worth Nothing.

I Think In This Phase, After The Negro Emerges In And From The Desegregated Society, Then A Great Deal Of Time Must Be Spent In Improving Standards Which Lag Behind To A Large Extent Because Of Segregation,discrimination, And The Legacy Of Slavery.

He Who Passively Accepts Evil Is As Much Involved In It As He Who Helps To Perpetrate It. He Who Accepts Evil Without Protesting Against It Is Really Cooperating With It.

Education Must Enable One To Sift And Weigh Evidence, To Discern The True From The False, The Real From The Unreal, And The Facts From The Fiction.

It Is Cheerful To God When You Rejoice Or Laugh From The Bottom Of Your Heart.

Darkness Cannot Drive Out Darkness; Only Light Can Do That. Hate Cannot Drive Out Hate; Only Love Can Do That.

The Curse Of Poverty Has No Justification In Our Age...the Time Has Come For Us To Civilize Ourselves By The Total, Direct And Immediate Abolition Of Poverty.

It Is Obvious Today That America Has Defaulted On This Promissory Note Insofar As Her Citizens Of Color Are Concerned. Instead Of Honoring This Sacred Obligation, America Has Given The Negro People A Bad Check, A Check Which Has Come Back Marked 'insufficient Funds.'

In Spite Of Its Glowing Talk About The Welfare Of The Masses, Communism's Methods And Philosophy Strip Man Of His Dignity And Worth, Leaving Him As Little More Than A Depersonalized Cog In The Ever-turning Wheel Of The State.

There Is Something Wrong With Our World, Something Fundamentally And Basically Wrong.

Education Without Social Action Is A One-sided Value Because It Has No True Power Potential.

Negro Leaders Sought To Negotiate With The City Fathers. But The Political Leaders Consistently Refused To Engage In Good-faith Negotiation.

If The Negro Is To Achieve The Goal Of Integration, He Must Organize Himself Into A Militant And Nonviolent Mass Movement.

While The Question Of Who Killed President Kennedy Is Important, The Question 'what Killed Him' Is More Important.

President Kennedy

As My Sufferings Mounted I Soon Realized That There Were Two Ways In Which I Could Respond To My Situation -- Either To React With Bitterness Or Seek To Transform The Suffering Into A Creative Force. I Decided To Follow The Latter Course.

I Just Want To Be There In Love And In Justice And In Truth And In Commitment To Others, So That We Can Make Of This Old World A New World.

Have We Not Come To Such An Impasse In The Modern World That We Must Love Our Enemies - Or Else? The Chain Reaction Of Evil - Hate Begetting Hate, Wars Producing More Wars - Must Be Broken, Or Else We Shall Be Plunged Into The Dark Abyss Of Annihilation.

Nothing Degrades A Man Do More Than The Allowed Stoop So Low As To Hate Someone

The Moral Arc Of The Universe Bends At The Elbow Of Justice.

May I Stress The Need For Courageous, Intelligent, And Dedicated Leadership... Leaders Of Sound Integrity. Leaders Not In Love With Publicity, But In Love With Justice. Leaders Not In Love With Money, But In Love With Humanity. Leaders Who Can Subject Their Particular Egos To The Greatness Of The Cause.

I Would Not Hesitate To Say That It Is Unfortunate That So-called Demonstrations Are Taking Place In Birmingham At This Time, But I Would Say In More Emphatic Terms That It Is Even More Unfortunate That The White Power Structure Of This City Left The Negro Community With No Other Alternative.

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