I became convinced that noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.

I know that love is ultimately the only answer to mankind's problems. And I'm going to talk about it everywhere I go. I know it isn't popular to talk about it in some circles today. I'm not talking about emotional bosh when I talk about love, I'm talking about a strong, demanding love.

Don't ever let anyone pull you so low as to hate them. We must use the weapon of love. We must have the compassion and understanding for those who hate us. We must realize so many people are taught to hate us that they are not totally responsible for their hate. But we stand in life at midnight; we are always on the threshold of a new dawn.

Nonviolent action, the Negro saw, was the way to supplement, not replace, the progress of change. It was the way to divest himself of passivity without arraying himself in vindictive force.

Violence brings only temporary victories; violence, by creating many more social problems than it solves, never brings permanent peace.

Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.

There is no deficit in human resources; the deficit is in human will.