The method of nonviolence seeks not to humiliate and not to defeat the oppressor, but it seeks to win his friendship and his understanding. And thereby and therefore the aftermath of this method is reconciliation.

Nothing degrades a man do more than the allowed stoop so low as to hate someone

The beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold.

Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.

A social movement that only moves people is merely a revolt. A movement that changes both people and institutions is a revolution.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls.