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It’s all right to tell a man to lift himself by his own bootstraps, but it is cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Martin Luther King, Jr.
Age: 39 †
Born: 1929
Born: January 15
Died: 1968
Died: April 4
Civil Rights Advocate
Human Rights Activist
Humanitarian
Leader
Minister
Pacifist
Pastor
Peace Activist
Politician
Preacher
Theologian
Atlanta
Georgia
MLK
Martin Luther King
Dr. King
Michael King
Michael King Jr.
M.L. King
Martin Luther
Jr. King
Martin Luther King
Jr.
Lifts
Equality
Ought
Tell
Right
Bootstraps
Men
Jest
Lift
Cruel

More quotes by Martin Luther King, Jr.

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One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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A second thing that an individual must do in seeking to love his enemy is to discover the element of good in his enemy, and everytime you begin to hate that person and think of hating that person, realize that there is some good there and look at those good points which will over-balance the bad points.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Education must enable a man to become more efficient, to achieve with increasing facility the legitimate goals of his life.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Each one of us has the power to make others feel better or worse. Making others feel better is much more fun than making others feel worse. Making others feel better generally makes us feel better
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Every man is somebody because he is a child of God.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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unearned suffering is redemptive.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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We had no alternative except that of preparing for direct action, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and national community.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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The greatness of man cannot be seen in the hours of comfort and convenience, but rather in moments of conflict/adversity
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Jesus is not an impractical idealist he is the practical realist.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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The way of acquiescence leads to moral and spiritual suicide. The way of violence leads to bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers. But, the way of nonviolence leads to redemption and the creation of the beloved community.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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We have no alternative but to protest. For many years we have shown an amazing patience... But we come here tonight to be saved from that patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Unless you have found something in life to live for that is more important to you than your own life, you will always be a slave. For all another man needs to do is threaten to take your life to get you to do his bidding.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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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.
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Injustice anywhere threatens justice everywhere.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Millions of citizens are deeply disturbed that the military-industrial complex too often shapes national policy, but they do not want to be considered unpatriotic.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Our problem is not to be rid of fear but rather to harness and master it.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Don't let anybody take your manhood.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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We decided to set our direct-action program around the Easter season, realizing that, with exception of Christmas, this was the largest shopping period of the year. Knowing that a strong economic withdrawal program would be the by-product of direct action.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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When we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city...
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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If the cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. Because the goal of America is freedom, abused and scorned tho' we may be, our destiny is tied up with America's destiny.
Martin Luther King, Jr.