A man does not measure its height in moments of comfort, but in terms of change and controversy

If you haven't found something worth dying for, you're not fit to live.

Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love.

Every man [human being] is an heir to a legacy of dignity and worth

Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.

Three simple words can describe the nature of the social revolution that is talking place and what Negroes really want. They are the words "all," "now," and "here."

My parents would always tell me that I should not hate the white man, but that it was my duty as a Christian to love him.