MLK Quotes and Speeches

I don't know why I haven't written about Martin Luther King, Jr. before but I have great respect for that man. It seemed appropriate for me this year to write about him and share my thoughts along with some links to relevant sites. Especially since my kids are out of town, I won't get to sit at our computer and let them listen to my favorite speeches/sermons like we normally do every year -- I'll use that time to write here.

I read a biography about MLK Jr. several years ago after being fascinated by his life for so long. The Biography was excellent and gave what I considered a fair treatment of Dr. King (sorry, I borrowed the book and can't find it on Amazon but it was written in the 1980s I believe). He was not a perfect man by any means but none of us should hold that against him. In my view, he was a man of action and integrity who stood by his convictions regardless of the cost, which are key traits I am trying to teach my boys as they grow into men.

Here are a few great resources that I have found with information on Dr. King:
* Standford research institute with some great links to speeches and sermons (check out the "Popular Requests" and "King Audio" links).
* The King Center in Atlanta founded by Coretta Scott King (the link is not working today perhaps due to high traffic).
* AfricanAmericans.com complete speech transcripts and key quotes.
* MLK Online has some good information and links.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from his speeches and sermons:

Address to the National Press Club, Washington, D.C. July 19, 1962:
"We are simply seeking to bring into full realization the American dream -- a dream yet unfulfilled. A dream of equality of opportunity, of privilege and property widely distributed; a dream of a land where men no longer argue that the color of a man's skin determines the content of his character; the dream of a land where every man will respect the dignity and worth of human personality-this is the dream. When it is realized, the jangling discords of our nation will be transformed into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood, and men everywhere will know that America is truly the land of the free and home of the brave."

Great March on Detroit speech, Michigan June 23, 1963:
"If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live."

March on Washington "I Have a Dream," Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963:
"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 one day . . . sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood . . . . This is our hope . . . . 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 . . . . This will be the day when all God's children will be able to sing with new meaning, 'My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.'"

Strength To Love, 1963 (applicable to anger):
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction . . . . The chain reaction of evil -- hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars -- must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."

Strength to Love, 1963 (great quote about the church):
"The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority."

Strength to Love, 1963 (great quote for men):
"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."

The Drum Major Instinct, February 4, 1968:
"Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve . . . . you only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love."

I've Been to the Mountaintop, Memphis April 3, 1968, (the night before he died):
* "The world is all messed up . . . . But I know, somehow, that only when it's dark enough can you see the stars."
* "With this faith, I will go out and carve a tunnel of hope from a mountain of despair."