In honor and celebration of a writer and orator whose words changed the world, we offer four short quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The links go to the full texts from which these quotes were drawn, as well as some resources that you may find useful for the classroom.
“We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate.”
From “The Purpose of Education” in the February 1947 edition of the Morehouse College student newspaper, the Maroon Tiger.
This quote and others are also explored in this Answer Sheet blog post from Valerie Strauss.
“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”
From “A Proper Sense of Priorities” delivered February 6, 1968, Washington, D.C.
“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
From: Strength to Love (1963)
Explore many more original texts by Martin Luther King, Jr. in this digital archive.
“I’m concerned about a better world. I’m concerned about justice; I’m concerned about brotherhood; I’m concerned about truth. And when one is concerned about that, he can never advocate violence. For through violence you may murder a murderer, but you can’t murder murder. Through violence you may murder a liar, but you can’t establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can’t murder hate through violence. Darkness cannot put out darkness; only light can do that.”
From “Where Do We Go From Here?,” delivered at the 11th Annual Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Atlanta, Georgia. August 16, 1967.
You can listen Dr. King deliver the last 16 minutes of this speech here.
What quotes from Dr. King do you frequently share or use with your students?
Curious about the NCTE and Library of Congress connection? Through a grant announced by NCTE Executive Director Emily Kirkpatrick, NCTE is engaged in ongoing work with the Library of Congress, and “will connect the ELA community with the Library of Congress to expand the use of primary sources in teaching.” Stay tuned for more throughout the year!
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