Martin Luther King Jr.
(page 2)

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

Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.

The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.

To other countries, I may go as a tourist, but to India, I come as a pilgrim.

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

Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.

The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.

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.

Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.

Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

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.

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

Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.

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

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.

We are not makers of history. We are made by history.

The time is always right to do what is right.