“I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like any man, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land.”

“If a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live.”

“An individual has not begun to live until he can rise above the narrow horizons of his particular individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”

“The time is always right to do what's right.”

“We must all learn to live together as brothers — or we will all perish together as fools.”

“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

“Let the nation try justice and the problem will be solved.”

“What I ask for the negro is not benevolence, not pity, not sympathy, but simply justice.”

“Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice.”

“If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.”

“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

“The price of greatness is responsibility.”