Martin Luther King was a social justice crusader whose life was cut short. Had he lived, our country would have been a much better place to live for everyone. King didn’t just fight for social justice for African-Americans. He fought on behalf of all Americans who were struggling to get by in an economy that favors the wealthy and powerful. He also fought for civil rights, which led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Two landmark pieces of legislation that stand as a monument to his legacy. However, it is his words that stand brighter and are longer lasting than any sculpture or legislation. Here are 13 of my favorite Martin Luther King quotes.
1. “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.
2. “Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.”
~Martin Luther King, Jr.
3. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
~Martin Luther King, Jr.
4. “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
~Martin Luther King, Jr.
5. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
~Martin Luther King, Jr.
6. “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”
~Martin Luther King, Jr.
7. “History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”
~Martin Luther King, Jr.
8. “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.
9. “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.
10. “A right delayed is a right denied”.
~Martin Luther King, Jr.
11. “A riot is the language of the unheard.”
~Martin Luther King, Jr
12. “A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.”
~Martin Luther King, Jr.
13. “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”
~Martin Luther King, Jr.
Let us always remember his words and his actions that have inspired millions of Americans and people around the world to fight for equality, justice, and for what is right. Happy Martin Luther King Day!
