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I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsam and jetsam in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him.

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.
Knowledge
Rivers
Idea
Refuse
Jetsam
Ideas
Mere
Flotsam
Men
Accept
Unfolding
Life
Accepting
Unable
Events
Surround
Influence
River
Learning
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More quotes by 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.
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I may be crucified for my beliefs and, if I am, you can say, He died to make men free.
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Mother Dear, one day I'm going to turn this world upside down. --From My Brother Martin, by Christine King Farris
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The truth may hurt, but love helps ease the pain.
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Many of the ugly pages of American history have been obscured and forgotten....America owes a debt of justice which it has only begun to pay. If it loses the will to finish or slackens in its determination, history will recall its crimes and the country that would be great will lack the most indispensable element of greatness-justice.
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Commit yourself to the noble struggle for human rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country and a finer world to live in.
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A social movement that only moves people is merely a revolt. A movement that changes both people and institutions is a revolution.
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The group consisting of mother, father and child is the main educational agency of mankind.
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Unity has never meant uniformity.
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It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked 'insufficient funds.'
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The greatest purveyor of violence in the world : My own Government, I can not be Silent.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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[Malcolm X] had said a great deal about nonviolence, criticizing nonviolence, and saying that I approved of Negro men and women being bitten by dogs and the fire hoses, and I say, say go on and not defend yourself. I think this kind of response grew out of the build up, all of the talk about my being a sort of polished Uncle Tom.
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Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson etched across the pages of history the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence, we were here.
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Everyone has the power for greatness, not for fame but greatness, because greatness is determined by service.
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If physical death is the price that I must pay to free my white brothers and sisters from a permanent death of the spirit, then nothing can be more redemptive.
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Please be peaceful. We believe in law and order. We are not advocating violence, I want you to love your enemies... for what we are doing is right, what we are doing is just -- and God is with us.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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There is something in the soul that cries out for freedom.
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So I have tried to make it clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends. But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends.
Martin Luther King, Jr.