37 Impactful Martin Luther King Jr Quotes Relatable to Spoonies
Y’all know I’m a quote lover. One of my favorite people to quote is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (MLK).
Dr. King was a true wordsmith (among other things). His words gave hope and inspiration to many during a very interesting time in American history.
photo from patch.com
I’m grateful that we are able to celebrate MLK on his birthday. Not just because of what his words meant to those back then but that they have transcended through the decades.
Dr. King’s platform was seeking equality via peaceful protest. He spoke on multiple areas including life, love, inspiration, leadership, progress, justice, freedom and faith. Here are some of my favorite Martin Luther King Quotes that I resonate with me as a spoonie.
MLK Quotes Invisible Illnesses
“Seeing is not always believing.”
- “Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.”
MLK Quotes on Depression
- “Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. ”
“Only in the darkness can you see the stars.”
- “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.”
- “Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.”
MLK Quotes on Self Love
- “He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.”
“There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love.”
- “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”
- “Hate is too great a burden to bear. I have decided to love.”
MLK Quotes on Living Your Best Life
“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
- “Everybody can be great … because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
MLK Quotes on Overcoming Obstacles
“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.”
- “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”
- “We must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious faith in the future.”
- “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.”
- “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
- “Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness.”
- “You will change your mind; You will change your looks; You will change your smile, laugh, and ways but no matter what you change, you will always be you.”
- “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.”
- “Courage is an inner resolution to go forward despite obstacles; Cowardice is submissive surrender to circumstances. Courage breeds creativity; Cowardice represses fear and is mastered by it. Cowardice asks the question, is it safe? Expediency asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But conscience ask the question, is it right? And there comes a time when we must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right.”
- “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” “The God whom we worship is not a weak and incompetent God. He is able to beat back gigantic waves of opposition and to bring low prodigious mountains of evil. The ringing testimony of the Christian faith is that God is able.”
- “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”
- “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself.”
MLK Quotes on Support Systems
“We cannot walk alone.”
- “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
- “Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a constant attitude.”
- We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
- “People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.”
- “No person has the right to rain on your dreams.”
MLK Quotes about Advocacy
- “Not everybody can be famous but everybody can be great because greatness is determined by service… You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.”
“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.”
- “I am not interested in power for power’s sake, but I’m interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.”
- “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.”
MLK Quotes on Health Care
- “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.”
- “Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power.”
What’s your favorite MLK quote? Do any of these quotes resonate with you?
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