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The nonviolent approach does not immediately change the heart of the oppressor. It first does something to the hearts and souls of those committed to it. It gives them new self-respect it calls up resources of strength and courage they did not know they had.

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
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Atlanta
Georgia
MLK
Martin Luther King
Dr. King
Michael King
Michael King Jr.
M.L. King
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Jr. King
Martin Luther King
Jr.
Self
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More quotes by 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 conservatives who say, Let us not move so fast, and the extremists who say, Let us go out and whip the world , would tell you that they are as far apart as the poles. But there is a striking parallel: They accomplish nothing for they do not reach the people who have a crying need to be free.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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The contemporary church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch supporter of the status quo.
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I would rather be a man of conviction than a man of conformity
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By opening our lives to God in Christ, we become new creatures. This experience, which Jesus spoke of as the new birth, is essential if we are to be transformed nonconformists . . . Only through an inner spiritual transformation do we gain the strength to fight vigorously the evils of the world in a humble and loving spirit.
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We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy
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Ten cures for depression are to go out and do something for someone else and repeat it nine times.
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Brutality was imprisoned in a lumious glare revealing the naked truth to the whole world
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The poor in our countries have been shut out of our minds and driven from the mainstream of our societies, because we have allowed them to become invisible.
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The problem with hatred and violence is that they intensity the fears of the white majority, and leave them less ashamed of their prejudices toward Negroes.
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Knowledge is a process of piling up facts wisdom lies in their simplification.
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I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.
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One who breaks an unjust law that conscience tells him is unjust ... is in reality expressing the highest respect for law ... We will not obey your evil laws.
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It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.
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I think the inconveniences of a segregated education are much greater than the inconveniences of busing students so that they can get an integrated quality education.
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The purpose of direct action is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.
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Why is the church always a taillight rather than a headlight?
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Sooner or later, all the peoples of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace, and thereby transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Every crisis has both its dangers and its opportunities. Each can spell either salvation or doom.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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The majority of the Negroes who took part in the year-long boycott of Montgomery's buses were poor and untutored but they understood the essence of the Montgomery movement one elderly woman summed it up for the rest. When asked after several weeks of walking whether she was tired, she answered: My feet is tired, but my soul is at rest.
Martin Luther King, Jr.