Martin Luther King Jr.

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

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.

The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important.

Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.

Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.

The greatest tragedy of this period of social transition is not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.

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.

Moral authority is a more potent weapon than physical power.

The day we see the truth and cease to speak is the day we begin to die.

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 it is right.

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

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

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.

Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.

The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others.

One day we will have to stand before the God of history and we will be asked what did we do with these moments of great moral challenge.

The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today is my own government.

The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state.

Means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy.