True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.

There is something in the soul that cries out for freedom.

I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction... I believe that even amid today's mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow... I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed.

The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.

When I am commanded to love, I am commanded to restore community, to resist injustice, and to meet the needs of my brothers.

In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified.... All three were crucified for the same crime-the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

I refuse to accept the view . . . that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.