We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.

We must substitute courage for caution.

Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.

As long as the mind is enslaved, the body can never be free. Psychological freedom, a firm sense of self-esteem, is the most powerful weapon against the long night of physical slavery.

Like anybody, I would like to have a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will.