Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can’t ride you unless your back is bent.

It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me. But it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that’s pretty important.

We must learn to live together as brothers or we will perish together as fools. Racial injustice is still the black man’s burden and the white man’s shame. The government must certainly share the guilt, the individual must share the guilt, and even the church must share the guilt.

We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not yet learned the simple art of living together like brothers. Our abundance has brought us neither peace of mind nor serenity of spirit.

I must be true to my conviction that I share with all men the calling to be a son of the living God. Beyond the calling of race or nation or creed is this vocation of sonship and brotherhood. Because I believe that the Father is deeply concerned, especially for His suffering and helpless and […]

I want to be the white man’s brother, not his brother-in-law.

I just don’t worry about things like this. (assassination) If I did, I just couldn’t get anything done. One time I did have a gun in Montgomery. I don’t know why I got it in the first place. I sat down with Coretta one night and we talked about it. I pointed out that as […]

We all may have come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.

America, the richest and most powerful nation in the world, can well lead the way in this revolution of values. There is nothing except a tragic death wish to prevent us from reordering our priorities over the pursuit of war.