20 Powerful Quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  He was the spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968.  

Inspired by his Christian beliefs, he was instrumental in advancing civil rights through nonviolence.

He was a powerful speaker and many of his quotes are remembered through the decades and still make an impact to this day. 

Here are 20 of his most powerful quotes.  Take some time today to read through these and think deeply about what he said. 

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.

 The quality, not the longevity, one's life is what is important.

 A life cannot live.

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.

He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.

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

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.

Only in the dark can  you see the stars.

There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right.

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus.

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.

Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a constant attitude.

If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.

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 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.

Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.

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.

Use me God.  Show me to take who I am, who I want to be, and what I can do, and use it for a purpose greater than myself.

Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

By opening our lives to God in Christ, we become new creatures. This experience, which Jesus spoke of as the new birth, is essential if we are to be transformed nonconformists … only through an inner spiritual transformation do we gain the strength to fight vigorously the evils of the world in a humble and loving spirit.