Martin Luther King, Jr.

Whatever effects one directly, effects all indirectly.

He who is greatest among you shall be a servant. That's the new definition of greatness. ... By giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.

It is better to be the recipient of violence than the inflicter of it, since the latter only multiplies the existence of violence and bitterness in the universe, while the former may develop a sense of shame in the opponent, and thereby bring about a transformation and change of heart.

We have a great dream. It started way back in 1776, and God grant that America will be true to her dream.

The major problem of life is learning how to handle the costly interruptions.

The self cannot be self without other selves.

It is hardly a moral act to encourage others patiently to accept injustice which he himself does not endure.

Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable . . .

The supreme task is to organize and unite people so that their anger becomes a transforming force.

History is a great teacher. Now everyone knows that the labor movement did not diminish the strength of the nation but enlarged it. By raising the living standards of millions, labor miraculously created a market for industry and lifted the whole nation to undreamed of levels of production. Those who attack labor forget these simple truths, but history remembers them.

Be concerned about your brother...eithe r we go up together, or we go down together.

We must in strength and humility meet hate with love.

We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.

Let's build bridges, not walls.

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.'

If our economic system is to survive, there has to be a better distribution of wealth ... we can't have a system where some people live in superfluous, inordinate wealth, while others live in abject deadening poverty.

I'm grateful to God that, through the Negro church, the dimension of nonviolence entered our struggle.

I am not afraid of the word tension.

Justice is love correcting that which revolts against love.

We all can't be famous but we can all be great and we become great when we serve others

I was much more afraid in Montgomery when I had a gun in my house. When I decided that I couldn’t keep a gun, I came face-to-face with the question of death and I dealt with it. From that point on, I no longer needed a gun nor have I been afraid. Had we become distracted by the question of my safety we would have lost the moral offensive and sunk to the level of our oppressors.