Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr.was an American Baptist minister and activist who was a leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionLeader
Date of Birth15 January 1929
CountryUnited States of America
determination sacrifice people
When people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory.
peace war sacrifice
We will not build a peaceful world by following a negative path. It is not enough to say we will 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 on the positive affirmation of peace
sacrifice men may
I may be crucified for my beliefs and, if I am, you can say, "He died to make men free.
struggle sacrifice progress
Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable . . .
sacrifice suffering majestic
There is nothing more majestic than the determined courage of individuals willing to suffer and sacrifice for their freedom and dignity.
healing sacrifice two
As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation -- either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course.
sacrifice self denial
Freedom has always been an expensive thing. History is fit testimony to the fact that freedom is rarely gained without sacrifice and self-denial.
life courage peace
On some positions, cowardice asks the question, is it expedient? And then expedience comes along and asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? Conscience asks the question, is it right? There comes a time when one must take the position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must do it because conscience tells him it is right.
party betrayed faces
We must face the appalling fact that we have been betrayed by both the Democratic and Republican Parties.
beethoven composed earth excellence great heaven hosts job lived man pause shakespeare streets sweep wrote
If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well.
action american-leader bring creators direct engage hidden merely surface tension
We who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive.
accepts arouse breaks conscience expressing highest individual law legal order penalty reality respect submit tells willingly
I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.
cuts history man weapon
Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. Indeed, it is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it.
involving principle
The principle of self defense, even involving weapons and bloodshed, has never been condemned, even by Gandhi.