15 of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Most Powerful Quotes

Mar. 15, 2025

Martin Luther King Jr. holds a press conference at the Savoy Hotel in London, U.K., in September 1964.Photo:Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty

Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty

The iconic"I Have a Dream" speech— delivered during the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Aug. 28, 1963 — instantly comes to mind when reflecting onDr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most transformative leaders of the civil rights movement.Beforehis assassination at age 39on April 4, 1968, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate spent a decade giving fearless orations and profound insights that continue to inspire generations, all deserving attention and consideration.As we pay tribute to his life and legacy on Martin Luther King Jr. Day — observed on the third Monday of January in recognition of his birthday on Jan. 15, 1929 — we revisit some of his most powerful words.

The iconic"I Have a Dream" speech— delivered during the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Aug. 28, 1963 — instantly comes to mind when reflecting onDr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most transformative leaders of the civil rights movement.

Beforehis assassination at age 39on April 4, 1968, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate spent a decade giving fearless orations and profound insights that continue to inspire generations, all deserving attention and consideration.

As we pay tribute to his life and legacy on Martin Luther King Jr. Day — observed on the third Monday of January in recognition of his birthday on Jan. 15, 1929 — we revisit some of his most powerful words.

01of 15Live TogetherRev. Martin Luther King Jr. (center) at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Aug. 28, 1963.Robert w. Kelley"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."— from his March 22, 1964, speech in St. Louis

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Live Together

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (center) at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Aug. 28, 1963.Robert w. Kelley

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."— from his March 22, 1964, speech in St. Louis

02of 15Not Fit to LiveDr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and future Washington, D.C., mayor Marion Barry during a civil rights strategy and planning conference at Atlanta University in mid-May 1960.Howard Sochurek"If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live."— during a speech in Detroit on June 23, 1963

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Not Fit to Live

Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and future Washington, D.C., mayor Marion Barry during a civil rights strategy and planning conference at Atlanta University in mid-May 1960.Howard Sochurek

“If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live."— during a speech in Detroit on June 23, 1963

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Having a Conscience

Underwood Archives/Getty Images

“On some positions, Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ And Vanity comes along and asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’ But Conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right."— during a Feb. 6, 1968, speech in Washington, D.C.

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Never Lose Hope

Martin Luther King Jr. delivers a speech at UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza in Berkeley, Calif., on May 17, 1967.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

05of 15Time to Do RightU.S. President Lyndon Johnson (far right) meets (from left to right) NAACP Executive Secretary Roy Wilkins, co-founder of the Committee of Racial Equality James L. Farmer Jr, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Executive Director of National Urban League Whitney Young on Jan. 28, 1964.PhotoQuest/Getty Images"We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right."— in “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” April 16, 1963

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Time to Do Right

U.S. President Lyndon Johnson (far right) meets (from left to right) NAACP Executive Secretary Roy Wilkins, co-founder of the Committee of Racial Equality James L. Farmer Jr, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Executive Director of National Urban League Whitney Young on Jan. 28, 1964.PhotoQuest/Getty Images

PhotoQuest/Getty Images

“We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right."— in “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” April 16, 1963

06of 15Genuine BrotherhoodAmerican civil rights leader Martin Luther King (center) with his wife, Coretta Scott King (right), and colleagues during a civil rights march from Selma, Ala., to the state capital in Montgomery in March 1965.William Lovelace/Express/Getty Images"The beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold."— from his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo, Norway, on Dec. 10, 1964

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Genuine Brotherhood

American civil rights leader Martin Luther King (center) with his wife, Coretta Scott King (right), and colleagues during a civil rights march from Selma, Ala., to the state capital in Montgomery in March 1965.William Lovelace/Express/Getty Images

William Lovelace/Express/Getty Images

“The beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold."— from his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo, Norway, on Dec. 10, 1964

07of 15The Beauty of DiversityRev. Martin Luther King Jr. relaxes at home with his wife Coretta and first child Yolanda in Montgomery, Ala., in May 1956.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images"Let us be dissatisfied until integration is not seen as a problem but as an opportunity to participate in the beauty of diversity."— during a speech at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference on Aug. 16, 1967, in Atlanta, Ga.

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The Beauty of Diversity

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. relaxes at home with his wife Coretta and first child Yolanda in Montgomery, Ala., in May 1956.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

“Let us be dissatisfied until integration is not seen as a problem but as an opportunity to participate in the beauty of diversity."— during a speech at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference on Aug. 16, 1967, in Atlanta, Ga.

08of 15The Immortality of ViolenceMartin Luther King Jr. dressed in black robes and holding out his hands toward the thousands of people who have gathered to hear him speak near the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.Hulton Archive/Getty Images"Violence is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding: It seeks to annihilate rather than convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends up defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers."— in his Nobel Lecture delivered at the University of Oslo on Dec. 11, 1964

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The Immortality of Violence

Martin Luther King Jr. dressed in black robes and holding out his hands toward the thousands of people who have gathered to hear him speak near the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

“Violence is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding: It seeks to annihilate rather than convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends up defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers."— in his Nobel Lecture delivered at the University of Oslo on Dec. 11, 1964

09of 15Only LoveDr. Martin Luther King Jr. holds his infant daughter, Yolanda, in his arms in 1956.Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."— from King’s 1963 book,Strength to Love

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Only Love

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holds his infant daughter, Yolanda, in his arms in 1956.Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images

Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."— from King’s 1963 book,Strength to Love

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“I Have a Dream…”

Martin Luther King Jr. waves to supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., during his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech on Aug. 28, 1963.AFP/Getty

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Rocky Roads

Martin Luther King Jr. in the offices of the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., on March 31, 1968.Morton Broffman/Getty Images

Morton Broffman/Getty Images

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Our Rightful Place

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses a crowd on Aug. 4, 1965.Ellsworth Davis

13of 15Injustice Is a ThreatMartin Luther King Jr. with a 7089 sign across his chest for a police mug shot, sitting on a chair against the wall in a station house after his arrest for directing a city-wide boycott of segregated buses.Don Cravens/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."— in “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” April 16, 1963

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Injustice Is a Threat

Martin Luther King Jr. with a 7089 sign across his chest for a police mug shot, sitting on a chair against the wall in a station house after his arrest for directing a city-wide boycott of segregated buses.Don Cravens/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

Don Cravens/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."— in “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” April 16, 1963

14of 15Power with LoveMartin Luther King Jr. stands in front of a bus at the end of the Montgomery bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala., on Dec. 26, 1956.Don Cravens/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images"What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and that love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love."— from a speech at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference on Aug. 16, 1967, in Atlanta, Ga.

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Power with Love

Martin Luther King Jr. stands in front of a bus at the end of the Montgomery bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala., on Dec. 26, 1956.Don Cravens/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

“What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and that love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love."— from a speech at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference on Aug. 16, 1967, in Atlanta, Ga.

15of 15Where He StandsMartin Luther King Jr. in 1964.Reg Lancaster/Express/Getty Images"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."— from King’s 1963 book,Strength to Love

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Where He Stands

Martin Luther King Jr. in 1964.Reg Lancaster/Express/Getty Images

Reg Lancaster/Express/Getty Images

“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."— from King’s 1963 book,Strength to Love

source: people.com