Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes About Independence

• Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Freedom, 4th Of July, Direct Action

  "Letter from Birmingham Jail," 16 Apr. 1963

• Before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson etched across the pages of history the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence, we were here.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Inspirational, Historical, Independence

  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2013). “The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I Have a Dream" and Other Great Writings”, p.104, Beacon Press

• One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaeo-Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Christian, Dream, Children

  "Why we can't wait".

• When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Fall, Independence, Republic

  Speech at Civil Rights March,Washington, D.C., 28 Aug. 1963

• In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men - yes, black men as well as white men - would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness... America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked 'insufficient funds.'

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Fall, Men, Pursuit Of Happiness

  I Have a Dream, delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.

• The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward the goal of political independence, and we still creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward the gaining of a cup of coffee at a lunch counter.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Inspirational, Horse, Coffee

  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2013). “The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I Have a Dream" and Other Great Writings”, p.90, Beacon Press

• Before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson etched across the pages of history the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence, we were here. If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Winning, Independence, Majestic

  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2013). “The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I Have a Dream" and Other Great Writings”, p.104, Beacon Press

You May Also Like:

Malcolm X

Mahatma Gandhi

Nelson Mandela

Rosa Parks

Martin Luther King III

Coretta Scott King

Martin Luther