1960s, I Have A Dream (1963)
Source: I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World
Context: The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
Source: Sculpting in Time (1986), p. 234
Context: Freedom is inseparable from conscience. And even if it is true that all the ideas developed by the social conciousness are the product of evolution, conscience at least has nothing to do with the historic process. Conscience, both as a sense and as a concept, is a priori immanent in man, and shakes the very foundations of the society that has emerged from our ill-conceived civilisation.
2000s, 2001, A Great People Has Been Moved to Defend a Great Nation (September 2001)
“There will never be peace and justice until we know justice and peace in our hearts.”
Mindanao Bishop condemns communist guerrilla violence http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Mindanao-Bishop-condemns-communist-guerrilla-violence-31554.html (July 7, 2014)
“The learning process continues until the day you die. ”
Montgomery Bus Boycott speech, at Holt Street Baptist Church (5 December 1955) http://www.blackpast.org/?q=1955-martin-luther-king-jr-montgomery-bus-boycott
1950s
Context: Whatever we do, we must keep God in the forefront. Let us be Christian in all of our actions. But I want to tell you this evening that it is not enough for us to talk about love, love is one of the pivotal points of the Christian face, faith. There is another side called justice. And justice is really love in calculation. Justice is love correcting that which revolts against love.
“A foundation of our American way of life is our national respect for law.”
1950s, Address to the American People on the Situation in Little Rock (1957)
“The only national emergency is that our President is an incompetent racist.”
14 February 2019 https://twitter.com/CraigGerber_/status/1096177273059737601
Source: " Kamala Harris: Women Are Facing A National Emergency https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/kamala-harris-women-national-emergency_n_602ec604c5b66da5dba0101a?ri18n=true" (February 18, 2021)
