FROM NEXT AVENUE: Beyond ‘I Have a Dream’: 9 Stirring Martin Luther King Quotes

Martin Luther King Jr. at a Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C.

From Next Avenue — where grown-ups keep on growing.

On Monday, January 18, we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and honor the man who led nonviolent protests during the Civil Rights movement. If you grew up during the 1960s, you likely have vivid memories of King’s transformative work. Or perhaps you’ve seen modern portrayals of King in popular culture, the most recent being Selma, the film about the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., that led to equal voting rights — a key milestone for civil rights.

What was apparent to his followers then remains true today: King was an eloquent speaker. Although his “I Have a Dream” speech is best known and most studied, King also delivered other inspiring messages. In his honor, we offer these nine, lesser-known, but equally powerful selections.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

"Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend."

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

"The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important."

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?’

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."

"Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see."

From Next Avenue — where grown-ups keep on growing.

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