We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.
'Letter from Birmingham Jail' in Why We Can't Wait 1963.
Share with your friends
More from Martin Luther King Jr.
Returning hate for hate multiplies 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.
Loving Your Enemies (1957 speech) and included in King's book Strength to Love (1963)
view
Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.
The Measure of a Man (1958)
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.”… I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.
"I Have a Dream," speech at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
Strength to Love (1963)
The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool.
Strength to Love (1963)