15 Best Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most inspirational people to have ever lived. While the civil rights of African Americans were at the heart of his speeches, his words have the power to affect people regardless of one's skin color or ethnicity. His life was sadly cut short, but his wisdom lives on.

The following make up some of the best Martin Luther King Jr. quotes for the world we live in today:

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes on Labor

"All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence."

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes on Living Life

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."

"Man's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?"

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes on Love & Hate

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

"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes on Evils

"Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies - or else? The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."

"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."

"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 believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant."

I Have A Dream Quotes

"I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

"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."

Random Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people."

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

"It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important."

"Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal."

"Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see."