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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.
Tell
Right
Bootstraps
Men
Jest
Lift
Cruel
Lifts
Equality
Ought

More quotes by Martin Luther King, Jr.

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I think the first reason that we should love our enemies, and I think this was at the very center of Jesus' thinking, is this: that hate for hate only intensifies the existence of hate and evil in the universe.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Every man [human being] is an heir to a legacy of dignity and worth
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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I became convinced that noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good. No other person has been more eloquent and passionate in getting this idea across than Henry David Thoreau. As a result of his writings and personal witness, we are the heirs of a legacy of creative protest.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Our goal is to create a beloved community, said Dr. King, and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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I never intend to adjust myself to the madness of militarism.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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[nonviolence] seeks to secure moral ends through moral means.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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To have peace in the world, men & nations must embrace the nonviolent assertion that ends and means must cohere.
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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The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life's difficulties.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Our lives are not fully lived if we're not willing to die for those we love, for what we believe.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Find a voice in a whisper.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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In spite of its glowing talk about the welfare of the masses, Communism's methods and philosophy strip man of his dignity and worth, leaving him as little more than a depersonalized cog in the ever-turning wheel of the state.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation -- either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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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.
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Is is always time to do the right thing.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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In order to love your enemies, you must begin by analyzing self.
Martin Luther King, Jr.