Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)
Letter From a Birmingham Jail
"I Have a Dream" Speech (Delivered at Civil Rights March on Washington, August 28, 1963)
A man who won't die for something is not fit to live.
I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.
Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.
I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become reality. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant. (Nobel Peace Prize acceptance, Dec. 10, 1964 )
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. (Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963)
Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. (Strength to Love, 1963)
Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men. (Strength to Love, 1963)
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. (Strength to Love, 1963)
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. (Speech at Civil Rights March on Washington, August 28, 1963)
VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
johnclement:
Badlands is fantastic, as is "Days of Heaven". Definitely check them out.
xgenehawk:
he singlehandely changed a part of our history for the better ... he showed courage in the face of hatred and that led other people to follow and believe ...