Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a prolific and powerful speaker. He delivered numerous speeches and in conjunction with his public appearances, was the author of an incredible number of profound quotes. And even though these insightful Martin Luther King quotes were delivered over 40 years ago, they are still relevant today.
Here is a little bit of the wisdom borne of Martin Luther King Jr quotes:
- “I submit to you that if a man hasn’t discovered something he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”Speech in Detroit 1963
- “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
- “When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative.”
- “All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.”From his book Strength to Love
- “Now, I say to you today my friends, 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 March on Washington
- “…And I’ve looked over and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the Promised Land. So I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man.”From his speech the day before he was assassinated
- “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom. “
- “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.”
- “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. “
- “The past is prophetic in that it asserts loudly that wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows. “
- “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.”
- “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. “
- “Many people fear nothing more terribly than to take a position which stands out sharply and clearly from the prevailing opinion. The tendency of most is to adopt a view that is so ambiguous that it will include everything and so popular that it will include everybody.”