Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day!

 

For Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Here Are 15 of Dr. King's Most Inspiring Quotes: 👇

The 15 quotes (along with an additional one that was removed after controversy) include:

1. "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope."
This quote comes directly from King's "I Have A Dream" speech in Washington on August 28, 1963. Slightly greater context: "With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope."


2. "We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
This is from his speech at the Washington National Cathedral, March 31, 1968. Here, listen to just a few minutes of it, and you'll see how powerful a speaker King was.

3. "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."
This is from a sermon King preached entitled, "Loving Your Enemies," at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama in 1957.

Greater context: "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."


4. "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."
The source on this quote is the speech King gave in accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in Olso, Norway, in 1964.


5. "Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a better person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in."
This was from the closing lines of his speech at the March for Integrated Schools, April 18, 1959. You can find the full transcript on the website of Stanford University.



6. "I oppose the war in Vietnam because I love America. I speak out against it not in anger but with anxiety and sorrow in my heart, and above all with a passionate desire to see our beloved country stand as a moral example of the world."
The official website cites this quote as coming from King's remarks at the Anti-War Conference, Los Angeles, California, February 26, 1967. Like many speeches and sermons, he gave variations of it at different times and places; a the text of a version that he gave in New York City in April of that year can be found here.


7. "If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective."
This is from King's Christmas sermon, Atlanta, Georgia, 1967.


8. "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."
This has to be one of King's most famous quotations, coming from Letter from Birmingham, Alabama Jail, April 16, 1963.


9. "I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits."
This is also from King's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in 1964.


10. "It is not enough to say 'We must not wage war.' It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but the positive affirmation of peace."
Similarly, this is from the Anti-War Conference, Los Angeles, California, February 25, 1967.



11. "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
From a sermon called Strength to Love, which King wrote while jailed in Birmingham in 1963.


12. "Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies."
This is from the same speech referenced by Quote Number 6, above. It's included in the transcript from New York City, April 4, 1967.


13. "We are determined here in Montgomery to work and fight until justice runs 'down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.'"
This is from King's speech on December 5, 1955 at the Holt Street Baptist Church, as he and others organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This was really King's first big speech -- he'd only graduated from the seminary the year before.

14. "We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience."

This is from King's speech in Montgomery, Alabama, March 25, 1965, at the culmination of the Selma to Montgomery marches. You can find the whole transcript here. A bit longer context:

"And so I plead with you this afternoon as we go ahead: remain committed to nonviolence.
Our aim must never be to defeat or humiliate the white man, but to win his friendship and understanding. We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience.
And that will be a day not of the white man, not of the black man. That will be the day of man as man."

15. "True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice."

The 16th bonus quote

There's a 16th quote that was originally included at the memorial, but was removed after it stirred controversy.

The quote read, "I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness," but in the words of the National Park Service, it sparked controversy when author and poet Maya Angelou said it made King "look like an arrogant twit."

In context, King was preaching about "the theme of the danger of the personal ego driving people and nations to live beyond their means and seek attention and supremacy to negative ends," again in the words of the NPS.

The line was intended to suggest humility: In other words (paraphrasing), Don't remember me as a Nobel Peace Prize recepient, or a public figure, but instead, as a "drum major for justice, peace, and righteousness."

But, that's what happens sometimes when you take quotes out of context.
Long time readers know I'm a big fan of inspirational quotes, to the point that every New Year's Day, I share 365 of them, one for each day in the new year (or else, 366 in leap years like 2024).

Dr. King's words always make the list. Next time you're in D.C., make sure to visit the memorial.