270 Martin Luther King Jr Quotes On Courage, Racism, Dreams

Here are 100 of the best Martin Luther King Jr. quotes.

And you will not be disappointed by them.

Few people could turn powerful ideas into unforgettable words quite like Martin Luther King Jr.

He spoke about

• courage
• justice
• love
• hope

And also what it means to stand for something bigger than yourself.

Personally, he inspired me to think bigger, speak with more courage, and never underestimate the power of words.

Decades later, his message still feels remarkably alive.

I hope you’ll enjoy his quotes as much as I do.

Top 15 Martin Luther King Jr Quotes

Go to table of contents

You can kill the dreamer, but you can’t kill the dream. Martin Luther King Jr

A man can’t ride your back unless it’s bent. Martin Luther King Jr

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Martin Luther King Jr

When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative. Martin Luther King Jr

True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice. Martin Luther King Jr

The quality, not the longevity, of one’s life is what is important Martin Luther King Jr

Darkness is only driven out with light, not more darkness. Martin Luther King Jr

Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Martin Luther King Jr

Let no man pull you so low as to hate him. Martin Luther King Jr

Even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. Martin Luther King Jr (Related: I am a dream speech transcript here)

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Martin Luther King Jr

Courage is the power of the mind to overcome fear. Martin Luther King Jr

A productive and happy life is not something you find; it is something you make. Martin Luther King Jr

I want to be the white man’s brother, not his brother-in-law. Martin Luther King Jr

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. Martin Luther King Jr

Related

• 100 Maya Angelou Quotes (On Life, Love, Courage)
• 130 Mahatma Gandhi Quotes On Peace, Religion, Leadership
• 100+ Most Famous Quotes Of All Time

Quick facts
Name at birth: Michael King Jr
Place: Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968 (aged 39)
Occupation: Baptist minister, activist
Known for: Civil rights movement, Peace movement
More Martin Luther King Jr facts (Wikipedia page)

The Best Martin Luther King Jr Quotes (MLK Quotes)

Go to table of contents

The time is always right to do what is right. Martin Luther King Jr

Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men. Martin Luther King Jr

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. Martin Luther King Jr(See the YouTube video of “I have a dream”)

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. Martin Luther King Jr

Keep feeling the need for being first. But I want you to be the first in love. I want you to be the first in moral excellence. I want you to be the first in generosity. Martin Luther King Jr

The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict. Martin Luther King Jr

Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. Martin Luther King Jr

I am not interested in power for power’s sake, but I’m interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good. Martin Luther King Jr

A right delayed is a right denied. Martin Luther King Jr

Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted. Martin Luther King Jr

Whatever your life’s work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better. Martin Luther King Jr

We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. Martin Luther King Jr

There comes a time when silence is betrayal. Martin Luther King Jr

Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. Martin Luther King Jr

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Martin Luther King Jr

If physical death is the price that I must pay to free my white brothers and sisters from a permanent death of the spirit, then nothing can be more redemptive. Martin Luther King Jr

Whatever career you may choose for yourself – doctor, lawyer, teacher – let me propose an avocation to be pursued along with it. Martin Luther King Jr

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. Martin Luther King Jr

Civilization and violence are antithetical concepts. Martin Luther King Jr

We spend 322 000$ for each enemy we kill in Vietnam, while we spend in the so-called “war on poverty” in America only about 53$ for each person classified as poor. Martin Luther King Jr

Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ Vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’ But, conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because one’s conscience tells one that it is right. Martin Luther King Jr

There is no deficit in human resources; the deficit is in human will.

Related: 130 Inspirational Quotes For Men

Part 2. Martin Luther King Jr Quotes That Are…

The Most Famous Martin Luther King Jr Quotes

Go to table of contents

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. brothers or perish together as fools. Martin Luther King Jr

I was not afraid of the words of the violent, but of the silence of the honest. Martin Luther King Jr

If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way. Martin Luther King Jr

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus. Martin Luther King Jr

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. Martin Luther King Jr

Perhaps the worst sin in life is knowing right and not doing it. Martin Luther King Jr

To ignore evil is to become an accomplice to it. Martin Luther King Jr

Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love. Martin Luther King Jr

I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls. Martin Luther King Jr

Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. Martin Luther King Jr

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Martin Luther King Jr

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. Martin Luther King Jr

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ Martin Luther King Jr

Related: 10 Things You May Not Know About Martin Luther King Jr (history.com)

Short Martin Luther King Jr Quotes

Go to table of contents

One-liners, short MLK quotes, sayings, thoughts, and captions for your bio, social status, self-talk, motto, mantra, signs, posters, wallpapers, and backgrounds.

No person has the right to rain on your dreams. Martin Luther King Jr

Find a voice in a whisper. Martin Luther King Jr

A lie cannot live. Martin Luther King Jr

Seeing is not always believing. Martin Luther King Jr

Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. Martin Luther King Jr

Means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek. Martin Luther King Jr

Be the peace you wish to see in the world. Martin Luther King Jr

Without justice, there can be no peace. Martin Luther King Jr

We must shift the arms race into a ‘peace race’. Martin Luther King Jr

Lightning makes no sound until it strikes. Martin Luther King Jr

Music is the best consolation for a despaired man. Martin Luther King Jr

We must in strength and humility meet hate with love. Martin Luther King Jr

Inspirational Martin Luther King Jr Quotes

Go to table of contents

We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now. Martin Luther King Jr

In a sense, songs are the soul of a movement. Martin Luther King Jr

The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood. Martin Luther King Jr

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity. Martin Luther King Jr

Part 1. I look forward confidently to the day when all who work for a living will be one with no thought to their separateness as Negroes, Jews, Italians or any other distinctions.

Part 2. This will be the day when we bring into full realization the American dream – a dream yet unfulfilled.

Part 3. A dream of equality of opportunity, of privilege and property widely distributed; a dream of a land where men will not take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few;

Part 4. A dream of a land where men will not argue that the color of a man’s skin determines the content of his character;

Part 5. A dream of a nation where all our gifts and resources are held not for ourselves alone, but as instruments of service for the rest of humanity; the dream of a country where every man will respect the dignity and worth of the human personality. Martin Luther King Jr

Related: 5 Life Lessons From Dr. Martin Luther King (fastweb.com)

Our children need our presence, not our presents. Martin Luther King Jr

I just want to do God’s will. And he’s allowed me to go to the mountain. 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. Martin Luther King Jr

One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. Martin Luther King Jr

Pity may represent little more than the impersonal concern which prompts the mailing of a check, but true sympathy is the personal concern which demands the giving of one’s soul. Martin Luther King Jr

Every man of humane convictions must decide on the protest that best suits his convictions, but we must all protest. Martin Luther King Jr

Part 1. I subject myself to self-purification and to endless self-analysis; I question and soul-search constantly into myself to be as certain as I can that I am fulfilling the true meaning of my work, that I am maintaining my sense of purpose, that I am holding fast to my ideals, that I am guiding my people in the right direction. Martin Luther King Jr

Part 2. But whatever my doubts, however heavy the burden, I feel that I must accept the task of helping to make this nation and this world a better place to live in – for all men, black and white alike. Martin Luther King Jr

Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better. Martin Luther King Jr

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. Martin Luther King Jr

All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence. Martin Luther King Jr

Deep, Emotional, And Meaningful Martin Luther King Jr Quotes

Go to table of contents

A man who won’t die for something is not fit to live. Martin Luther King Jr

We are not makers of history. We are made by history. Martin Luther King Jr

The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’ Martin Luther King Jr

Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see. Martin Luther King Jr

In spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace. Martin Luther King Jr

The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals. Martin Luther King Jr

Unconditional love will have the final word in reality. Martin Luther King Jr

Part 1. As long as there is poverty in the world I can never be rich, even if I have a billion dollars.

Part 2. As long as diseases are rampant and millions of people in this world cannot expect to live more than twenty-eight or thirty years, I can never be totally healthy even if I just got a good checkup at Mayo Clinic.

Part 3. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the way our world is made.

Part 4. No individual or nation can stand out boasting of being independent. We are interdependent. Martin Luther King Jr

At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love. Martin Luther King Jr

A riot is the language of the unheard. Martin Luther King Jr

There is nothing more tragic than to find an individual bogged down in the length of life, devoid of breadth. Martin Luther King Jr

Lukewarm acceptance is more bewildering than outright rejection. Martin Luther King Jr

Related: 11 forgotten Martin Luther King quotes that show he was a revolutionary (vox.com)

Wise Martin Luther King Jr Quotes (Words of wisdom)

Go to table of contents

Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude. Martin Luther King Jr

We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right. Martin Luther King Jr

Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they can not communicate; they can not communicate because they are separated. Martin Luther King Jr

Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality. Martin Luther King Jr

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend. Martin Luther King Jr

Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Martin Luther King Jr

Those who are not looking for happiness are the most likely to find it, because those who are searching forget that the surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others. Martin Luther King Jr

The best way to solve any problem is to remove its cause. Martin Luther King Jr

Capitalism is always in danger of inspiring men to be more concerned about making a living than making a life. We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries or the size of our automobiles, rather than by the quality of our service and relationship to humanity-thus capitalism can lead to a practical materialism that is as pernicious as the materialism taught by communism. Martin Luther King Jr

The difference between a dreamer and a visionary is that a dreamer has his eyes closed and a visionary has his eyes open. Martin Luther King Jr

One of the great tragedies of life is that men seldom bridge the gulf between practice and profession, between doing and saying. Martin Luther King Jr

In a real sense faith is total surrender to God. Martin Luther King Jr

The richer we have become materially, the poorer we become morally and spiritually. We have learned to fly in the air like birds and swim in the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers. Martin Luther King Jr

You can have no influence over those for whom you have underlying contempt. Martin Luther King Jr

Part 3. Conclusion

Go to table of contents

We are challenged to rise above the narrow confines of our individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity. Martin Luther King Jr

Further Readings

• Topic: Life And Inspiration
• 100 Short Quotes That Will Inspire You (Fast)
• 90 Freedom Quotes To Inspire Liberty And Independence
• 5 Lessons from MLK on Living, Leading, & Communicating (goinswriter.com)
• 120 Inspirational Quotes For Teens To Cheer Yourself Up
• 100 Inspirational Quotes For Women To Empower You