Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous quotes as America honors his legacy

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

As we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, it's a good opportunity to educate our kids on his legacy and his relevance in 2022. Alice Faye Duncan, author of "Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth" joined us on Good Day LA.

LOS ANGELES - America honors the life and legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Monday. The civil rights activist was born on Jan. 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. Saturday would have been his 93rd birthday. Many across the country and the world still fight for the very same causes that Dr. King fought for, using some of his most famous words as guidance and encouragement.

Here are some of the civil rights leader's most famous quotes, with some background on where they came from.

"The time is always right to do right."

This excerpt is part of a commencement address that Dr. King gave to the Oberlin College graduating class of 1965. In the speech, King spoke about how to fight against racism and injustice. In the full context, King advocated for action, rather than waiting for time to heal.

"Somewhere we must come to see that human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and the persistent work of dedicated individuals. Without this hard work, time becomes an ally of the primitive forces of social stagnation. So we must help time and realize that the time is always right to do right."

"A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right."

This quote comes from a speech King delivered at a church in Selma, Alabama, the day after Bloody Sunday. King is often attributed saying "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter," however many believe that's just an interpretation of the speech in Selma. Here's the full context:

"A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right. A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true."

"Peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold."

King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his civil rights activism. In his acceptance speech, King acknowledged the incongruity, winning a prize for fighting for racial justice, when in his mind, racial justice in America hadn't yet been achieved. "I must ask why this prize is awarded to a movement which is beleaguered and committed to unrelenting struggle; to a movement which has not won the very peace and brotherhood which is the essence of the Nobel Prize," he said. Below is the last sentence of King's acceptance speech:

"I think Alfred Nobel would know what I mean when I say that I accept this award in the spirit of a curator of some precious heirloom which he holds in trust for its true owners – all those to whom beauty is truth and truth beauty – and in whose eyes the beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold."

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."

This quote comes from a collection of some of the late reverend's most memorable sermons called "Strength to Love." In this excerpt, King was articulating the importance of loving your enemies:

Why should we love our enemies? The first reason is fairly obvious. Returning hate for hate multiples hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiples hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.

"Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illumines it."

This quote is similarly from "Strength to Love":

Hatred and bitterness can never cure the disease of fear; only love can do that. Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illumines it.

"Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope."

This excerpt is one of King's most famous quotes, from his most famous address, the "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on the National Mall in Washington, DC on Aug. 28, 1963. The quote is also featured prominently on the statue that's part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in DC.

The full context:

"I have a dream that one day every valley shall be engulfed, every hill shall be exalted and every mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope."

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