Martin Luther King quotes:

Send

Dr. Martin Luther King is not a black hero. He is an American hero. -- Morgan Freeman
I want to be like Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, and John Lennon... but I want to stay alive. -- Madonna Ciccone
If Martin Luther King came back, he'd say we need another civil rights movement built on class not race. -- Henry Louis Gates
Martin Luther King, Jr. didn't carry just a piece of cloth to symbolize his belief in racial equality; he carried the American flag. -- Adrian Cronauer
Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered as our prince of peace, of civil rights. We owe him something major that will keep his memory alive. -- Morgan Freeman
The assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy led directly to the passage of a historic law, the Gun Control Act of 1968. -- Jeffrey Toobin
If Rosa Parks had not refused to move to the back of the bus, you and I might never have heard of Dr. Martin Luther King. -- Ramsey Clark
I am really enjoying the new Martin Luther King Jr stamp - just think about all those white bigots, licking the backside of a black man. -- Dick Gregory
Each year on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birth, America has the opportunity to reflect on our nation's progress towards the realization of his dream. -- Adam Schiff
I was proud to march beside some of the most notable Civil Rights activists, such as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Jesse Jackson, and Joseph L. Rauh, Jr., from Selma to Montgomery. -- Charles B. Rangel
If we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday at a time of presidential inaugurals, this is thanks to Ronald Reagan who created the holiday, and not to the Democratic Congress of the Carter years, which rejected it. -- David Horowitz
The people who have impacted the world didn't live long. Martin Luther King. John F. Kennedy. These people who impact the world were not old people, but they lived so effectively that we cannot erase them from history. -- Myles Munroe
I was raised in Arizona, and I went to public school, and the extent of my knowledge of the civil-rights movement was the story of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. I wonder how much my generation knows. -- Emma Stone
I grew up in Ohio, where civil-rights accomplishments had already begun to accelerate before Martin Luther King appeared. In hindsight, we know that many people, black and white, were instrumental in changing the Jim Crow status quo on all levels. -- Rita Dove
The leaders who we admire who have been able to bring great change in the past - Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela - they're all inspirational religious leaders and smart tacticians. It would be nice to find the Muslim Gandhi, wouldn't it? -- Dennis C. Blair
We're trained to see the world in terms of charismatic organizations and charismatic people. That's who we look to for leadership and change, for transformation. We're awaiting the next J.F.K., the next Martin Luther King, the next Gandhi, the next Nelson Mandela. -- Paul Hawken
One individual can begin a movement that turns the tide of history. Martin Luther King in the civil rights movement, Mohandas Ganhi in India, Nelson Mandela in South Africa are examples of people standing up with courage and non-violence to bring about needed changes. -- Jack Canfield
The library of my elementary school had this great biography section, and I read all of these paperback biographies until they were dog-eared. The story of Eleanor Roosevelt and Madame Curie and Martin Luther King and George Washington Carver and on and on and on. -- Christine Quinn
Half a century ago, the amazing courage of Rosa Parks, the visionary leadership of Martin Luther King, and the inspirational actions of the civil rights movement led politicians to write equality into the law and make real the promise of America for all her citizens. -- David Cameron
In 1999, I was in St. Louis with Martin Luther King III as we led protests against the state's failure to hire minority contractors for highway construction projects. We went at dawn on a summer day with over a thousand people and performed acts of civil disobedience. -- Al Sharpton
What created democracy was Thomas Paine and Shays' Rebellion, the suffragists and the abolitionists and on down through the populists and the labor movement, including the Wobblies. Tough, in your face people... Mother Jones, Woody Guthrie... Martin Luther King and Caesar Chavez. And now it's down to us. -- Jim Hightower
I'm hungry for knowledge. The whole thing is to learn every day, to get brighter and brighter. That's what this world is about. You look at someone like Gandhi, and he glowed. Martin Luther King glowed. Muhammad Ali glows. I think that's from being bright all the time, and trying to be brighter. -- Jay-Z
When your heart speaks to you about what you need to do to sustain life on this planet, listen to it, make a difference, and be an inspiration for generations to come. Be inspired by people like Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Christopher Reeve, Albert Schweitzer, Helen Keller, and many others. -- Bernie Siegel
There's a gap somehow between empathy and activism. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of 'soul force' - something that emanates from a deep truth inside of us and empowers us to act. Once you identify your inner genius, you will be able to take action, whether it's writing a check or digging a well. -- Sue Monk Kidd
Whether you're president or speaker, if you're wrong, we need to stand up and point it out. That's what Martin Luther King had talked about: being judged by the content of our character and not the color of our skin. So some of us pounded away on some of the ridiculous policies of Pelosi - and lo and behold, over time, the public began to see. -- Louie Gohmert
You cannot hear the name Martin Luther King, Jr., and not think of death. You might hear the words 'I have a dream,' but they will doubtlessly only serve to underscore an image of a simple motel balcony, a large man made small, a pool of blood. For as famous as he may have been in life, it is - and was - death that ultimately defined him. -- Michael Eric Dyson
Martin Luther King is a notorious liar[] -- John G. Schmitz
Martin Luther King was an extremist of love. -- Cornel West
Jesus-murdered. Martin Luther King-murdered. Gandhi-murdered. Malcolm X-murdered. Reagan-wounded. -- Bill Hicks
I saw my father march with Martin Luther King. -- Mitt Romney
I loved Martin Luther King more than a brother. -- Ralph Abernathy
The first African-American leader was Dr. Martin Luther King. -- Bobby Seale
Guess what, Martin Luther King? I had a dream, too. -- Sarah Silverman
Martin Luther King has made the Negro in America unnatural. -- Malcolm X
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of my personal heroes. -- Ken Salazar
I wished the president [Barack Obama] were more "Martin Luther King-like." -- Cornel West
Martin Luther King demeans his race and retards the advancement of his people. -- Strom Thurmond
Martin Luther King said America had given a bad check to black people. -- Andrew Young
I ain't Martin Luther King. I don't need a dream. I have a plan. -- Spike Lee
Martin Luther King was a leader for all Americans on our own professed values. -- Taylor Branch
My father and I marched with Martin Luther King Jr. through the streets of Detroit. -- Mitt Romney
Martin Luther King was never an up close and personal figure in the United States. -- Taylor Branch
I'm taking one for the team, Like Martin Luther King, taking one for a dream -- Method Man
Martin Luther King Jr. was a great teacher and just a great person in general. -- Akeem Ayers
When I marched with Martin Luther King in Selma, I felt my legs were praying. -- Abraham Joshua Heschel
Martin Luther King has taken away from the Negro his Gov-given right to defend himself. -- Malcolm X
Martin Luther King did not stir his audience in 1963 by declaiming 'I have a nightmare' -- Anthony Giddens
Even after facing jail, Martin Luther King, Jr. courageously and boldly spoke out against racial inequality. -- Yvette Clarke
The real meaning of courage was the personal sacrifice of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King. -- Pete Seeger
Martin Luther King was a victim of surveillance, and had great solidarity with victims of surveillance. -- Cornel West
I love Louisiana fried fish, but it's all Martin Luther King, I can't go over there. -- Vince Staples
I would love to meet Martin Luther King. His fearless attitude, leadership, and self-awareness changed our world. -- Zulay Henao
Martin Luther King gave the 'I Have a Dream' speech, not the 'I Have a Plan' speech. -- Simon Sinek
You supposed to be able to do anything in this world. That's what Martin Luther King told me. -- Lil Wayne
The White man pays Reverend Martin Luther King so that Martin Luther King can keep the Negro defenseless. -- Malcolm X
I wanted to show that Martin Luther King was simply a human being, not a god, not a saint. -- Ralph Abernathy
I marched back then - I was in a civil-rights musical, Fly Blackbird, and we met Martin Luther King. -- George Takei
We may disagree on methods [with Martin Luther King], but we don't have to argue all day on methods. -- Malcolm X
Martin Luther King was a radical democrat, by which I mean someone who is a foe of wealth inequality. -- Cornel West
Martin Luther King taught us all nonviolence. I was told to extend nonviolence to the mother and her calf. -- Dick Gregory
Imagine Martin Luther King saying, 'I have a dream ... But I don't know if the others will buy it.' -- Benjamin Zander
[Martin Luther King] King was a socialist and King was an activist who was really a radical by the end. -- Bill Ayers
We will not allow this day of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial to go without somebody going to jail. -- Cornel West
Martin Luther King wanted to be morally consistent and speak out against various things that were wrong, not just racism. -- Cornel West
Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech always sends me down some path, some trajectory of some creative idea. -- Abigail Washburn
In that respect, Martin Luther King, whom A.J.[Muste] advised in the civil rights movement, was also a radical pacifist. -- Nat Hentoff
If Martin Luther King were here he'd be very surprised at some of the sugar-coated versions of American history presented today. -- Kwasi Kwarteng
Using references of current technology, Martin Luther King Jr. could mentally cut and paste better than any individual I have ever known. -- Clarence Benjamin Jones
The book Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story, I read it when I was about 17-and-a-half or 18. It changed my life. -- John Lewis
What Martin Luther King is doing is disarming the black people of America of their God-given right and of their natural right. -- Malcolm X
Hip hop culture has done more for race relations in American than anything since Martin Luther King. And I really believe that. -- Steve Stoute
Jail threats did not dissuade Martin Luther King - and intergenerational justice is a moral issue of comparable magnitude to civil rights. -- James Hansen
As Martin Luther King said, "Passively to participate in an unjust system is to accept that system and to participate in its evil." -- Viggo Mortensen
The saddest face I ever saw on Martin Luther King was at the funeral of the four little girls slain in Birmingham, Alabama. -- James A. Forbes
The saddest face I ever saw on Martin Luther King was at the funeral of the four little girls slain in Birmingham, Alabama." -- James A. Forbes
We are now operating a school system in America that's more segregated than at any time since the death of Martin Luther King. -- Jonathan Kozol
His [Martin Luther King] last book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community, is a direct reference to angles, barbarism or socialism. -- Bill Ayers
You know who deserves a posthumous Medal of Honor? James Earl Ray [the confessed assassin of Martin Luther King]. We miss you, James. Godspeed. -- Rush Limbaugh
The greatest difference between now and 1964, when I began teaching, is that public policy has pretty much eradicated the dream of Martin Luther King. -- Jonathan Kozol
Inspiration thing is important, to teach the kids that JFK is not an airport, RFK's not a stadium, Martin Luther King ain't a street -- Kinky Friedman
Anybody who takes Martin Luther King seriously has got to go beyond the standard understanding of who he was, has to connect those dots. -- Cornel West
Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so Obama could run. Obama's running so we all can fly. -- Jay-Z
Martin Luther King said, and it is sadly still true, that one of the most segregated times in America is the hour of worship. -- Barney Frank
Martin Luther King was not a Marxist or a communist, but his radical love leads him to put poor and working people at the center. -- Cornel West
In my Philly neighborhood, black and white kids hung together without even thinking about it. The spirit of Martin Luther King was alive and well. -- Daryl Hall
I have suffered as much as Martin Luther King. Only I didn't get the bullet. And I would have taken the bullet if I could have. -- Ralph Abernathy
I remember when Martin Luther King was assassinated. I was up early watching television and watched the announcement. I didn't understand what the word 'assassinated' meant. -- Henry Rollins
True leaders are willing to die for their dreams. They don't oppress with ignorance; they impress with visions". They live like Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela... -- Israelmore Ayivor
[Belafonte]'d take me to perform for Martin Luther King's cause. But when they were marching I did not take part, because I was not a citizen -- Miriam Makeba
True leaders are willing to die for their dreams. They don't oppress with ignorance; they impress with visions. They live like Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela -- Israelmore Ayivor
Most students graduate from high school knowing nine words about the civil rights movement: Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and "I Have a Dream." And that's it! -- Andrew Aydin
At Ken Lay's funeral service the minister compared him to Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior. The difference is Dr. King had a dream, Ken Lay had a scheme. -- Jay Leno
Let's go beyond the Trinity of African-American History. There are so many more to learn about other than Harriett Tubman, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks. -- Karimah Grayson
Memphis is the place where rock was born and Martin Luther King, Jr., was killed. It's full of contradictions, abject poverty, and riches that only music can provide. -- Shawn Amos
I think the people from Mississippi ought to come to Chicago to learn how to hate." Martin Luther King, Jr. after the violent reception he received in Chicago in 1966. -- Rick Perlstein
Martin Luther King was a misguided leader. He worked to be recognized as the leader of black America when what black America needs isn't a leader, it is education. -- Jim Brown
I have to pinch myself sometimes. It's unbelievable, but it's not. Because I know that this would not be happening if it hadn't been for Dr. Martin Luther King. -- Mavis Staples
Martin Luther King was a human being with a brilliant mind, a powerful heart, and insight, and courage and also with a sense of humor. So he was accessible. -- Maya Angelou
I sound like Jesse Jackson or Martin Luther King, but I honestly feel like the world is mature enough. And, for me, I just want to do good roles. -- Marlon Wayans
I'm not Martin Luther King. I can't be Martin Luther King. The only thing I can do is present what I feel the essence of Martin Luther King is. -- Anthony Mackie
There's a natural tendency to sanitize and polish any historical icon whether it be George Washington chopping down the cherry tree or Martin Luther King saying, "I have a dream." -- Taylor Branch
To use a telling phrase of the Reverend Martin Luther King, we can say that we have defaulted on a promissory note and now is the time to honor it. -- Pope Francis
One day after laying a wreath at the tomb of Martin Luther King Jr., President Bush appoints a federal judge who has built his career around dismantling Dr. King's legacy. -- Hillary Clinton
The goal of Dr. Martin Luther King is to give Negroes a chance to sit in a segregated restaurant beside the same white man who had brutalized them for 400 years. -- Malcolm X
I think, along with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks will go down as one of the two most well-known and remembered figures out of the Civil Rights Movement. -- Douglas Brinkley
He [Martin Luther King Jr.] always used to say you have no choice about being born or dying. The only thing you have a choice about is what you die for. -- Andrew Young
In 1968, the sanitation workers of Memphis tried to form a union. The city resisted. The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. came to support them. That was where he lost his life. -- Robert Reich
I think hip-hop has definitely brought the black experience to white kids more than the civil rights movement did and more than any teacher's well-intentioned lecture on Martin Luther King did. -- Henry Rollins
[Malcolm X] shared with Marcus Garvey a commitment to building strong black institutions. He shared with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a commitment to peace and the freedom of racialized minorities. -- Manning Marable
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s peaceful, determined struggle for social justice, and Sargent Shriver, who launched the Peace Corps, were early heroes. A career of public service was the ultimate aspiration. -- Queen Noor of Jordan
For me, Lincoln is like just a handful of people - a Gandhi, or a Picasso, or a Martin Luther King Jr. - who is an original and captures something essential. -- Barack Obama
I believed in Obama for social issues. I believe he brought our nation together and healed our racial divide. Martin Luther King's dream came true when he was elected. That's huge. -- Melissa Etheridge
Laurel and Hardy, that's John and Yoko. And we stand a better chance under that guise because all the serious people like Martin Luther King and Kennedy and Gandhi got shot. -- John Lennon
I'm excited about my own network, BounceTV. It's the first African-American-owned broadcast network. It's myself, my partner Rob Hardy, and some other African-American businessmen, including Andrew Young and Martin Luther King III. -- Will Packer
I hope that the opening of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial will be a life-altering experience that inspires every American to rededicate themselves to the fulfillment of Dr. King's dream. -- Yvette Clarke
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a time to honor the greatest champion of racial equality who taught a nation - through compassion and courage - about democracy, nonviolence and racial justice. -- Mark Pryor
I have a dream. With that one sentence, Martin Luther King touched and empowered an entire nation. You know what else he did? He made everybody else without dreams feel real bad. -- Christopher Titus
I mean the prime case that you can look at is Martin Luther King, who was only an activist for 13 years. But every year, he became deeper, more concerned, connecting more issues. -- Bill Ayers
Since the day Martin Luther King was killed, the black middle classes have almost quadrupled, but the percentage of black children living on or below the poverty line is almost the same. -- Henry Louis Gates
Truth can be a matter of perspective, but I also think there's a truth that exists, that there are laws to the universe the way Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King believed. -- Tom Shadyac

Send