60 Famous Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes About Love, Justice and Equality
On MLK Day (and every day), look to these inspirational words.
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Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential trailblazers and gifted speakers in American history. As a pastor in the Baptist church, he was no stranger to giving moving sermons, using the power of his voice and nonviolent resistance to help overthrow the evils of segregation. We remember and honor his achievements on MLK Day and every day for their impact on the civil rights movement.
From his “I Have a Dream” speech to his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” the words of Martin Luther King Jr. are still as moving today as they were 60 years ago. In honor of his life and legacy, these are some of the most powerful Martin Luther King Jr. quotes that helped create lasting change. Just like these documentaries about Martin Luther King Jr., we hope these inspiring quotes help celebrate his incredible work and continue the ongoing work of antiracism today.
From his “Why I Oppose the War In Vietnam,” sermon, April 1967:
There comes a time when silence is betrayal.
From his 1963 book, "Strength to Love":
One day, we will learn that the heart can never be totally right when the head is totally wrong.
From his speech “A Proper Sense of Priorities”, February 1968:
There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right.
From his "I Have a Dream" speech, August 1963:
We will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.
- "I Have a Dream" speech, August 1963
From "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," April 1963:
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.
From “The American Dream” speech given at Lincoln University, Oxford, Penn. June 6, 1961:
I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. You can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be.
- “The American Dream,” 1961
From his “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution” speech, March 1968:
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.
From "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," April 1963:
Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself.
From his "Keep Moving from This Mountain" address, April 1960:
If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.
From "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," April 1963:
A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law.
From his 1964 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech:
I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.
From his autobiography, “The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.”:
The Western arrogance of feeling that it has everything to teach others and nothing to learn from them is not just.
- The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., 2001
From "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," April 1963:
One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.
From his 1964 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech:
I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history.
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, 1964
From his 1963 book, "Strength to Love":
Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, "What are you doing for others?"
From his essay “The Purpose of Education," 1947
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.
- “The Purpose of Education," 1947
From “A Tough Mind and a Tender Heart” sermon, August 30, 1959:
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 mainly with values. The two are not rivals.
- “A Tough Mind and a Tender Heart,” 1959
From his "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?”:
Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.
- "Where Do We Go From Here?," 1967
From his autobiography, “The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.”:
We must condemn those who are perpetuating the violence and not the individuals who engage in the pursuit of their constitutional rights.
From his speech before a group of students at Barratt Junior High School, October 26, 1967:
Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If you can't be a highway, just be a trail. If you can't be a sun, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.
Katarina Avendaño (she/her) is the senior SEO editor for Good Housekeeping, where she writes and edits lifestyle content and contributes to SEO strategy. Before joining GH in 2021, she was the digital editor at New York Family, where she was responsible for the website’s content and strategy. Katarina received her bachelor's degree in communications and Spanish from the University of Washington.
Sarah Vincent (she/her) covers the latest and greatest in books and all things pets for Good Housekeeping. She double majored in Creative Writing and Criminal Justice at Loyola University Chicago, where she sat in the front row for every basketball game. In her spare time, she loves cooking, crafting, studying Japanese, and, of course, reading.
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