10 Famous Quotes by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor
Monday, January 18, 2016

Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his 'I Have a Dream' speech on Aug. 28, 1963. — Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech on Aug. 28, 1963. | (Photo: The U.S. National Archives)

Every January the United States remembers a profoundly influential historical figure named Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

An outspoken champion of racial equality and an ordained Baptist minister, King made many memorable statements about spiritual and cultural struggles, and victories.

Below are just some of the many words he spoke during his public career both as a man of God and a leader in the Civil Rights Movement.

1. Light Driving Out Darkness

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

2. A Dream

"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."

Brendon Barclay holds son Bryce as he visits the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. collection at the Atlanta History Center which opened on the King Holiday in Atlanta, Georgia, Jan. 15, 2007. | (Photo: Reuters/Tami Chappell)

3. Injustice

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

4. When Lives End

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

5. Measure of a Man

"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."

President Lyndon B. Johnson speaks to Martin Luther King Jr. in an undated photo before Congress passed the Voting Rights Act in 1965. | (Photo: Reuters)

6. Remembering Silence

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

7. Drum Major

"Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter."

8. Moral Universe

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice."

9. The Mountaintop

"I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the promised land! I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land."

10. Rediscovering Lost Values

"The first principle of value that we need to rediscover is this: that all reality hinges on moral foundations. In other words, that this is a moral universe, and that there are moral laws of the universe just as abiding as the physical laws."