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We must combine the toughness of the serpent with the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart.

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.
Dove
Combine
Tender
Planning
Tough
Must
Softness
Heart
Toughness
Mind
Serpent

More quotes by Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Right defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.
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Within the best of us, there is some evil, and within the worst of us, there is some good. When we come to see this, we take a different attitude toward individuals.
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Man is man because he is free to operate within the framework of his destiny. He is free to deliberate, to make decisions, and to choose between alternatives.
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The spirit of Lincoln still lives that spirit born of the teachings of the Nazarene, who promised mercy to the merciful, who lifted the lowly, strengthened the weak, ate with publicans, and made the captives free. In the light of this divine example, the doctrines of demagogues shiver in their chaff.
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When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love.
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Nonviolence is absolute commitment to the way of love. Love is not emotional bash it is not empty sentimentalism. It is the active outpouring of one's whole being into the being of another.
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Vanity asks, is it popular? Politics ask, will it work? But conscience and morality ask, is it right?
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War is a poor chisel to carve out tomorrow.
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Education without direction is a one-sided social value. Direct action without education is a meaningless expression of pure energy.
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Make your way to death row and speak with the tragic victims of criminality. As they prepare to make their pathetic walk to the electric chair, their hopeless cry is that society will not forgive. Capital punishment is society's final assertion that it will not forgive.
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If you can't be a sun, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.
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We must recognize that we can't solve our problems now until there is a radical redistribution of economic and political power.... a radical restructuring of the architecture of American society.
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The problem of racism, the problem of economic exploitation, and the problem of war are all tied together. These are the triple evils that are interrelated.
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Hatred and bitterness can never cure the disease of fear only love can do that. Hatred paralyzes life love harmonies it. Hatred darkens life love illuminates it.
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Liberalism provided me with an intellectual satisfaction that I never found in fundamentalism. I became so enamored of the insights of liberalism that I almost fell into the trap of accepting uncritically everything it encompassed.
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The Negro needs the white man to free him from his fears. The white man needs the Negro to free him from his guilt.
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Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
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The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress. Out of its bold struggles, economic and social reform gave birth to unemployment insurance, old age pensions, government relief for the destitute, and, above all, new wage levels that meant not mere survival but a tolerable life.
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The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all men human and, therefore, brothers.
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If I lived in a Communist country today where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I believe I would openly advocate disobeying these anti-religious laws.
Martin Luther King, Jr.