In 1983, 15 years after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, President Ronald Reagan created a federal holiday in honor of the civil rights leader. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, also known as MLK Day, is celebrated annually on the third Monday in January.
In honor of MLK Day, we reflect on some of his most famous quotes. Although he spoke these words more than 50 years ago, the lessons he taught about leadership, service and citizenship still hold true.
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“Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education.”
King wrote an article titled “The Purpose of Education” for a 1947 edition of the Morehouse College student newspaper, The Maroon Tiger. He argued that the role of education was to provide the power of concentration and worthy objectives on which to concentrate.
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“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.”
“Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.”
King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is his most iconic. Delivered in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963, King shared his hope with the crowd that he wished for a “symphony of brotherhood” that stretched across the nation. His words remind us to remain hopeful when all seems lost.
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“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”
As part of his commitment to nonviolence, King argued against violent revolution using these words, which were included in this 1967 book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? and in an address at the 11th annual Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He maintains that peace can be attained through loving one another.
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“The time is always right to do what is right.”
King often delivered speeches to college students during the civil rights movement. He made this proclamation to a crowd of 2,500 students at Oberlin College as part of the speech, “The Future of Integration”, on October 22, 1964. His words motivate us to live selflessly and do what's best for others.
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“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
King believed in a better and brighter future for all — and he believed the only way to get there was to take one step at a time.
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“Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be a sun, be a star. For it isn’t by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.”
Six months before he was assassinated, King gave his "What Is Your Life's Blueprint?" speech to a group of students at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia on October 26, 1967. This quote reminds us that we don't have to be “big” or do “big” to make a difference.
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“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”
