Martin Luther King Jr.
American Baptist minister and civil rights leader (1929 to 1968); led the Montgomery bus boycott and the Birmingham campaign, gave the "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963, and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
Martin Luther King Jr. did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake
What they believe
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Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon
Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon.
books.google.comSaid c. 1964This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These one: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 17 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
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Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon
Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon.
Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition) Said c. 1964
Black Americans had never really been patient in the pure sense of the word
The Negro had never really been patient in the pure sense of the word.
Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition) Said c. 1964
Nonviolence mattered psychologically to Black Americans because they had to win and vindicate their dignity to earn self-esteem
Nonviolence had tremendous psychological importance to the Negro. He had to win and to vindicate his dignity in order to merit and enjoy his self-esteem.
Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition) Said c. 1964
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Most Black American leadership is innately opposed to compromise
The majority of Negro leadership is innately opposed to compromise.
Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition) Said c. 1964
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition) Said c. 1963–1964
People are bound together, so whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly
We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.
Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition) Said c. 1963–1964
There are two types of laws: just and unjust
The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust.
Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition) Said c. 1963–1964
People have a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws
Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.
Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition) Said c. 1963–1964
Whoever breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and willing to accept the penalty
One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.
Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition) Said c. 1963–1964
This generation must repent not only for bad people's hateful words and deeds but for good people's appalling silence
We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.
Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition) Said c. 1963–1964
Human progress is not inevitable; it comes through tireless effort, and without it time favors social stagnation
Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be coworkers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation.
Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition) Said c. 1963–1964
Time should be used creatively, because the time is always ripe to do right
We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.
Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition) Said c. 1963–1964
Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever; the yearning for freedom eventually shows itself
Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro.
Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition) Said c. 1963–1964
It is just as wrong, perhaps more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends
But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or perhaps even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends.
Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition) Said c. 1963–1964
The tokenism Black Americans condemn is an end in itself, meant to end protest rather than begin a process
The tokenism Negroes condemn is recognizable because it is an end in itself. Its purpose is not to begin a process, but instead to end the process of protest and pressure.
Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition) Said c. 1964
Nonviolence is a weapon unique in history that cuts without wounding and ennobles whoever wields it
It is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.
Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition) Said c. 1964
Nonviolence, the answer to Black Americans' need, may become the answer to humanity's most desperate need
Nonviolence, the answer to the Negroes' need, may become the answer to the most desperate need of all humanity.
Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition) Said c. 1964
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