Quotes about Activism
Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
Freedom is not won by a passive acceptance of suffering. Freedom is won by a struggle against suffering. By this measure, Negroes have not yet paid the full price for freedom. And whites have not yet faced the full cost of justice.
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
Geweldloos verzet kon volgens hem alleen vruchten afwerpen als de groepen waartegen het verzet werd gepleegd over enig moreel besef beschikten
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be taken by the oppressed.
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
When a police dog buried his fangs in the ankle of a small child in Birmingham, he buried his fangs in the ankle of every American. The bell of man's inhumanity to man does not toll for any one man. It tolls for you, for me, for all of us.
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
the question is not whether we will be extremist, but what kind of extremists we will 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?
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
Nonviolence is power, but it is the right and good use of power.
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
We've never made any gain in civil rights without constant, persistent, legal and nonviolent pressure. Don't let anybody make you feel that the problem will work itself out. For those who are telling me to keep my mouth shut, I can't do that.
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
The arch of History is long, but it bends towards justice.
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
As I went through this period one night I picked up an article entitled The Children of Vietnam, and I read it. And after reading that article, I said to myself, Never again will I be silent on an issue that is destroying the soul of our nation and destroying thousands and thousands of little children in Vietnam. I came to the conclusion that there is an existential moment in your life when you must decide to speak for yourself; nobody else can speak for you.
— Martin Luther King, Jr.