Quotes by Martin Luther King

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'

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

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.

Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase.

Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.

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.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

I say to you that our goal is freedom, and I believe we are going to get there because however much she strays away from it, the goal of America is freedom.

We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.

A riot is the language of the unheard.

Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they can not communicate; they can not communicate because they are separated.

True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.

I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. 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.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.

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 as brothers.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.

It's better to be hated for what you are
than to be loved for what you're not.