In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, here are 15 Martin Luther King Jr. quotes
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Editor’s note: This story was originally published Jan. 16, 2023.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born Jan. 15, 1929, in Atlanta. He was a Baptist minister and social activist, who is known for his role in the civil rights movement, per History.
King arranged and led key events in the Civil Rights Movement, such as the 1963 March on Washington and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. His efforts helped bring about legislation such as the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act.
In 1964, at age 35, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize — he was the youngest man to ever receive the award, per Nobel Prize. He donated the prize money of $54,123 to fund the civil rights movement.
On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of a motel in Memphis, King was assassinated. He had traveled to Memphis to lead a protest that supported garbage worker’s rights.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a celebration marking the birth of King. It is observed each year on the third Monday in January.
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, here are some of the best Martin Luther King Jr. quotes.
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What are Martin Luther King Jr.’s best quotes?
1. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that,” from “Strength to Love.”
2. “Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase,” from a speech at Park-Sheraton Hotel, 1962.
3. “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 “Strength to Love.”
4. “We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education,” from “The Purpose of Education,” 1947.
5. “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,” from “A Gift of Love.”
6. “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,” from the “I Have a Dream” speech, 1963.
7. “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,” Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Oslo, Norway, 1964.
8. “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,” from “The Death of Evil upon the Seashore.”
9. “You know, a lot of people don’t love themselves. And they go through life with deep and haunting emotional conflicts. So the length of life means that you must love yourself. And you know what loving yourself also means? It means that you’ve got to accept yourself,” from “The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life” sermon at New Covenant Baptist Church in Chicago.
10. “Life’s most persistent and urgent question, ‘What are you doing for others?’” King asked an audience in Montgomery, Alabama in 1957.
11. “So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” from the “I Have a Dream” speech, 1963.
12. “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,” Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Oslo, Norway, 1964.
13. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” from “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” April 16, 1963.
14. “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,” from an address at Spelman College, 1960.
15. “Love is the greatest force in the universe. It is the heartbeat of the moral cosmos. He who loves is a participant in the being of God,” from a handwritten letter, mid-1960s.
