One day the absurdity of the almost universal human belief in the slavery of other animals will be palpable. We shall then have discovered our souls and become worthier of sharing this planet with them.
We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.
It is our experience that the nation doesn’t move around questions of genuine equality for the poor and for black people until it is confronted massively, dramatically in terms of direct action.
We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.
The quality, not the longevity, of one’s life is what is important.
We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war but the positive affirmation of peace.
The major problem of life is learning how to handle the costly interruptions.
You only need a heart full of grace.
It is better to be the recipient of violence than the inflicter of it, since the latter only multiplies the existence of violence and bitterness in the universe, while the former may develop a sense of shame in the opponent, and thereby bring about a transformation and change of heart.
There is no deficit in human resources; the deficit is in human will.
I refuse to accept the idea that the ‘is-ness’ of a man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the ‘ought-ness’ that forever confronts him.
Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life’s difficulties, and if you think for a moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph.
The reason I can’t follow the old eye-for-an-eye philosophy is that it ends up leaving everyone blind.
No one is free until we are all free.
There is within human nature an amazing potential for goodness.
Now let us begin. Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter – but beautiful – struggle for a new world.
Power is the ability to achieve purpose.
Justice too long delayed is justice denied.
Had it not been for the ministry of my good friend Dr. Billy Graham, my work in the civil rights movement would not have been as successful as it has been.
Somebody must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate and the chain of evil in the universe. And you do that by love.