Civil Rights Movement Quotes

• That's what he was saying, the civil rights movement - judge me for my character, not how black my skin is, not how yellow my skin is, how short I am, how tall or fat or thin; It's by my character.

  Pam Grier

  Character, Yellow, Rights

  58 Copy quote

• There has been only a civil rights movement, whose tone of voice was adapted to an audience of liberal whites.

  Stokely Carmichael

  Rights, Voice, Movement

  Stokely Carmichael (1966). “What we want”

  41 Copy quote

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• Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Inspirational, Witty, Kings

  Strength to Love (1963) ch. 4

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• The civil rights movement didn't begin in Montgomery and it didn't end in the 1960s. It continues on to this very minute.

  Julian Bond

  Freedom, Equality, Rights

  225 Copy quote

• One individual can begin a movement that turns the tide of history. Martin Luther King in the civil rights movement, Mohandas Ganhi in India, Nelson Mandela in South Africa are examples of people standing up with courage and non-violence to bring about needed changes.

  Jack Canfield

  Inspirational, Kings, Rights

  21 Copy quote

• The time is always right to do what is right.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Inspirational, Positive, Inspiring

  "This Dallas Boy's MLK Jr. Speech Is Such A Sweet Message For Today's World" by Sarah Friedmann, www.bustle.com. January 2018.

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• Jim Crow is alive and it's dressed in a Brooks Brothers suit, my friend, instead of a white robe.

  Myrlie Evers-Williams

  Brother, White, Crow

  89 Copy quote

• Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Hate, Love Life, Mind Love

  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2012). “A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love and Other Preachings”, p.141, Beacon Press

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• My father was a slave and my people died to build this country and I am going to stay here and have a part of it just like you.

  Paul Robeson

  Inspirational, Country, Father

  Testimony before House Un-American Activities Committee, 12 June 1956

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• One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Inspirational, Religious, Responsibility

  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2011). “Why We Can't Wait”, p.60, Beacon Press

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• I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Love, Inspirational, Inspiring

  347 Copy quote

• Freedom, by definition, is people realizing that they are their own leaders.

  Diane Nash

  Motivational, Leadership, Freedom

  280 Copy quote

• I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Love, Being Strong, Peace

  Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Oslo, Norway, 10 Dec. 1964

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• Violence is black children going to school for 12 years and receiving 6 years' worth of education.

  Julian Bond

  Education, Children, School

  206 Copy quote

• The humanity of all Americans is diminished when any group is denied rights granted to others.

  Julian Bond

  Rights, Humanity, Groups

  238 Copy quote

• Half a century ago, the amazing courage of Rosa Parks, the visionary leadership of Martin Luther King, and the inspirational actions of the civil rights movement led politicians to write equality into the law and make real the promise of America for all her citizens.

  David Cameron

  Leadership, Kings, Real

  8 Copy quote

• Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Tyrants, Libertarian Party, Thought Provoking

  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2013). “The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I Have a Dream" and Other Great Writings”, p.94, Beacon Press

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• We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Inspirational, Brother, Yoga

  29 Copy quote

• I just couldn't move. History had me glued to the seat.

  Claudette Colvin

  Moving, History, Glue

  "Before Rosa Parks, A Teenager Defied Segregation On An Alabama Bus". "All Things Considered" with Robert Siegel, www.npr.org. March 2, 2015.

  194 Copy quote

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• There is no power in the world that can stop the forward march of free men and women when they are joined in the solidarity of human brotherhood.

  Walter Reuther

  Freedom, Power, Men

  110 Copy quote

• Use me, God. Show me how to take who I am, who I want to be, and what I can do, and use it for a purpose greater than myself.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  God, Christian, Religious

  165 Copy quote

• History of America, Part I (1776-1966): Declaration of Independence, Constitutional Convention, Louisiana Purchase, Civil War, Reconstruction, World War I, Great Depression, New Deal, World War II, TV, Cold war, civil-rights movement, Vietnam. History of America, Part II (1967-present): the Super Bowl era. The Super Bowl has become Main Street’s Mardi Gras.

  Norman Chad

  War, America, Rights

  6 Copy quote

• I believe it is my obligation to tell the story of the civil rights movement to the next generation.

  John Lewis

  Believe, Rights, Generations

  Source: www.teachingbooks.net

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• If the psychic energies of the average mass of people watching a football game or a musical comedy could be diverted into the rational channels of a freedom movement, they would be invincible.

  Wilhelm Reich

  Music, Sports, Football

  "The Mass Psychology of Fascism". Book by Wilhelm Reich, 1933.

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• It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Love, Inspirational, Acceptance

  1962 Speech at Cornell College, Mt Vernon, Iowa. Reported in the Wall Street Journal, 13 Nov.

  129 Copy quote

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