What Martin Luther King Jr. thinks about America
American Baptist minister and civil rights leader (1929 to 1968); led the Montgomery bus boycott and the Birmingham campaign, gave the "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963, and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
Martin Luther King Jr. did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
6 dated positions, c. 1964, in their own words. Our reading of what Martin Luther King Jr. has said — not written or endorsed by them.
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Their wordsThe Negro had never really been patient in the pure sense of the word.
↗Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition)books.google.com All 17 from this book
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Their wordsNonviolence had tremendous psychological importance to the Negro. He had to win and to vindicate his dignity in order to merit and enjoy his self-esteem.
↗Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition)books.google.com All 17 from this book
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Their wordsThe tokenism Negroes condemn is recognizable because it is an end in itself. Its purpose is not to begin a process, but instead to end the process of protest and pressure.
↗Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition)books.google.com All 17 from this book
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Our readingOppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever; the yearning for freedom eventually shows itself
Their wordsOppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro.
↗Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition)books.google.com All 17 from this book
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Their wordsThe majority of Negro leadership is innately opposed to compromise.
↗Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition)books.google.com All 17 from this book
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Their wordsNonviolence, the answer to the Negroes' need, may become the answer to the most desperate need of all humanity.
↗Why We Can't Wait (Penguin Modern Classics, 2018 edition)books.google.com All 17 from this book
The line under a date fills as the words age, a quarter at a time: past a month, six months, a year, and three years. Empty means said within the last month; full, more than three years ago. It says when, not whether it still holds — a change of mind is marked on the claim itself.
Dashed means we only know the words existed by that date; they may be older.