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When the Negro was completely an underdog, he needed white spokesmen. Liberals played their parts in this period exceedingly well.... But now that the Negro has rejected his role as an underdog, he has become more assertive in his search for identity and group solidarity he wants to speak for himself.

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.
Well
Roles
Parts
Exceedingly
Needed
Group
Underdog
Wants
Played
Negro
White
Periods
Solidarity
Speak
Identity
Liberals
Black
Role
Rejected
Become
Completely
Search
Spokesmen
Wells
Groups
Period
Assertive

More quotes by Martin Luther King, Jr.

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The Negro's problem will not be solved by running away.
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There is nothing but a lack of social vision to prevent us from paying an adequate wage to every American citizen whether he be a hospital worker, laundry worker, maid or day laborer
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A man who has nothing he is willing to die for has nothing worth living for
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I choose to give my life for those who have been left out of the sunlight of opportunity
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A true revolution of values will see that the western arrogance of feeling that it has everything to teach others and nothing to learn from them is not just.
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Every crisis has both its dangers and its opportunities. Each can spell either salvation or doom.
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A good many observers have remarked that if equality could come at once, the Negro would not be ready for it. I submit that the white American is even more unprepared.
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I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls.
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Love even for enemies is the key to the solution of the problems of our world.
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We must pursue peaceful end through peaceful means.
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We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.
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Many men cry Peace! Peace! but they refuse to do the things that make for peace.
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Nothing is so much needed as a secure family life for a people seeking to rise out of poverty and backwardness.
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Capitalism started out with a noble and high motive, but like most human systems it fell victim to the very thing it was revolting against.
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We have a great dream. It started way back in 1776, and God grant that America will be true to her dream.
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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.
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We must see the great distinction between a reform movement and a revolutionary movement. We are called upon to raise certain basic questions about the whole society . . . . What America must be told today is that she must be born again. The whole structure of American life must be changed.
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We will not build a peaceful world by following a negative path. It is not enough to say we will not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but on the positive affirmation of peace
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Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor it must be demanded by the oppressed.
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Courage faces fear and thereby masters it. Cowardice represses fear and is thereby mastered by it.
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