A Tribute To Martin Luther King Jr.

Years after the civil rights movement in the United States, the legacy of civil rights activist and moral spokesman, Martin Luther King Jr., lives on. In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, here are 20 quotes that capture his spirit and inspire his legacy:

• “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.”
• “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
• “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”
• “As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were only two ways in which I could respond… either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force.”
• “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
• “Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.”
• “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
• “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.”
• “No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”
• “Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.”
• “Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.”
• “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”
• “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘what are you doing for others?’”
• “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.”
• “Character is how you treat those who can do nothing for you.”
• “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
• “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.”
• “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
• “The richer we have become materially, the poorer we have become morally and spiritually. We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers.”
• “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.”