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We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear. That old law about an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind... The time is always right to do the right thing. Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.

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.
Time
Fear
Build
Means
Courage
Arrive
Back
Hold
Distant
Right
Everybody
Flood
Must
Law
Leaves
Mean
Goal
Merely
Thing
Eye
Seek
Always
Peace
Blind

More quotes by Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Just as it is the duty of all men to obey just laws, so it is the duty of all men to disobey unjust laws.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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[E]very human life is a reflection of divinity, and... every act of injustice mars and defaces the image of God in man.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Those of us who love peace must organize as effectively as the war hawks. As they spread the propaganda of war, we must spread the propaganda of peace.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Segregation...not only harms one physically but injures one spiritually...It scars the soul...It is a system which forever stares the segregated in the face, saying 'You are less than...''You are not equal to...'
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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And before you finish eating breakfast in the morning, you've depended on more than half of the world. This is the way our universe is structured, this is its interrelated quality.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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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.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the struggle for equal rights.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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We must face the appalling fact that we have been betrayed by both the Democratic and Republican Parties.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Hate destroys the very structure of the personality of the hater. [...] when you start hating anybody, it destroys the very center of your creative response to life and the universe so love everybody.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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There is something in this universe that justifies the biblical writer in saying, You shall reap what you sow. This is a law-abiding universe. This is a moral universe. It hinges on moral foundations. If we are to make of this a better world, we've got to go back and rediscover that precious value that we've left behind.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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The 'tide in the affairs of men' does not remain at the flood it ebbs. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is deaf to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residue of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: 'Too late...'
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.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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I may not be the man I want to be I may not be the man I ought to be I may not be the man I could be I may not be the man I truly can be but praise God, I'm not the man I once was
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Curtailment of free speech is rationalized on grounds that a more compelling American tradition forbids criticism of the government when the nation is at war... Nothing can be more destructive of our fundamental democratic traditions than the vicious effort to silence dissenters.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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In the struggle for human rights and justice, Negros will make a mistake if they become bitter and indulge in hate campaigns.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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You cannot defect form an insight. You cannot unsee what you have seen.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Success, recognition, and conformity are the bywords of the modern world where everyone seems to crave the anesthetizing security of being identified with the majority.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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The limitation of riots, moral questions aside, is that they cannot win and their participants know it. Hence, rioting is not revolutionary but reactionary because it invites defeat. It involves an emotional catharsis, but it must be followed by a sense of futility.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity
Martin Luther King, Jr.