“ In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

“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.”

“A just law is a man-made code that squares with moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with moral law…One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly and with a willingness to accept the penalty.”

“Darkness can not drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate can not drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community.”
From King’s sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, on April 2, 1957

“There is nothing quite so effective as the refusal to cooperate with the forces and institutions which perpetuate evil in our communities.”

“Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue…I must confess that I am not afraid of the word, tension. I have earnestly worked and preached against violent tension, but there is a type of constructive tension that is necessary for growth… the purpose of direct action is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.”
From Letter from A Birmingham Jail

“I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down, men other-centered can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive goodwill will proclaim the rule of the land.”
Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, December 10, 1964

“If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition that we now face surely will fail. We’re going to win our freedom because both the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of the almighty God are embodied in our echoing demands.”
From his sermon at the National Cathedral on Passion Sunday, March 31, 1968

“Let us hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all of their scintillating beauty.”
Letter from A Birmingham Jail, 1963

“I still have a dream today that one day war will come to an end, that men will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, that nations will no longer rise up against nations, neither will they study war any more.”
From Dr King’s sermon on Christmas Eve, 1967.

“Just as nonviolence exposed the ugliness of racial injustice, so must the infection and sickness of poverty be exposed and healed – not only its symptoms, but its basic causes. This too will be a fierce struggle, but we must not be afraid to pursue the remedy, no matter how formidable the task.”
Dr King’s Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1964

“Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not sallow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.”
‘I Have A Dream’ speech, August 28, 1963

“Never forget that God is able to lift you from fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope, and transform dark and desolate valleys into sunlit paths of inner peace.”
Eulogy for the Martyred Children, 1963

“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 true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige and even his life for the welfare of others. In dangerous valleys and hazardous pathways, he will lift some bruised and beaten brother to a higher and more noble life.”
“On Being A Good Neighbor” in Strength to Love, 1963.