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.

The thing that we need in the world today is a group of men and women who will stand up for right and to be opposed to wrong, wherever it is. A group of people who have come to see that some things are wrong, whether they're never caught up with. And some things are right, whether nobody sees you doing them or not.

The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.

Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.

Power properly understood is nothing but the ability to achieve purpose. It is the strength required to bring about social, political and economic change.

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land

The soft-minded man always fears change. He feels security in the status quo, and he has an almost morbid fear of the new. For him, the greatest pain is the pain of a new idea.

We aren't going to let any mace stop us. We are masters in our nonviolent movement in disarming police forces; they don't know what to do.