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Below are extracts from some of the most famous
speeches and writings of Martin Luther King. Some, such as the "I
have a dream..." speech are well known; but others are not so
famous, but are well worth reading. |
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We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful
words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence
of the good people.
Letter from Birmingham Jail,
April 16, 1963
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I have a dream that one day this nation
will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed - we hold
these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal...
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.
I have a dream today!
This is our hope. This is the faith that I
will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able
to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this
faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our
nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith
we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle
together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together,
knowing that we will be free one day...
Address at March on Washington DC for Jobs and Freedom, 28 August 1963
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I refuse to accept the idea that
man is mere flotsom and jetsom in the river of life unable to influence
the unfolding events which surround him. 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 a reality.
I refuse to accept the cynical notion
that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway
into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. 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.
Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, 10 December
1964, Oslo, Norway
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Was not Jesus an extremist for love – "Love your enemies,
bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you."
Was not Amos an extremist for justice – "Let justice roll
down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." Was
not Paul an extremist for the gospel of Jesus Christ – "I
bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin
Luther an extremist – "Here I stand; I can do none other
so help me God." Was not John Bunyan an extremist – "I
will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery
of my conscience." Was not Abraham Lincoln an extremist –
"This nation cannot survive half slave and half free."
Was not Thomas Jefferson an extremist – "We hold these
truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
So the question is not whether we will be extremist but what kind
of extremist will we be. Will we be extremists for hate or will
we be extremists for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation
of injustice – or will we be extremists for the cause of justice?
Letter from Birmingham Jail,
April 1963
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I tell you I've seen the lightning flash. I've heard the thunder
roar. I've felt sin breakers dashing trying to conquer my soul.
But I heard the voice of Jesus saying still to fight on. He promised
never to leave me alone.
Sermon in Ebenezer Baptist Church,
Atlanta, Georgia, 3 March 1968
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