Martin Luther King Jr.
Traced to source
7 quotes we’ve traced to Martin Luther King Jr.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that”
Verified“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”
Verified“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”
Verified“Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase”
Disputed“Hate destroys the hater”
Disputed“I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. 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”
Disputed“We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right”
DisputedNot actually Martin Luther King Jr.
Often misattributed to Martin Luther King Jr.
Famous lines widely pinned on Martin Luther King Jr. that we’ve traced to someone else.
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree”
actually Unknown — a 20th-century German saying
“Everything that is done in the world is done by hope”
actually Martin Luther
“Justice runs down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream”
actually The prophet Amos (Amos 5:24)
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”
actually Theodore Parker
On the research bench
Commonly pinned on Martin Luther King Jr. — under review
2 lines flagged as pinned on Martin Luther King Jr. and queued for a full source trace — not yet verified.
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Thought Martin Luther King Jr. said something else?
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