Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. As today is the first day of Black History Month, I will share my favorite quotes on Justice as authored by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This site’s fourteen-part series on Historical Racism in the United States existing from the post-Civil War Period of Reconstruction, leading to Jim Crow and to the present day, will continue throughout the remainder of this month.
As prolific writer and orator, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is unarguably the most well-known Civil Rights leader of the 20th century, and including his alone proclamations on Justice does not diminish the value of the impact of the uncountable unrecognized works and words of other Black Civil Rights leaders which history books have overlooked.
The following quotes on Justice were authored by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” – Letter from a Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963.
“It’s powerful to me when I think of how much justice has changed. But then also, how much it has not. I feel a certain personal responsibility to push that cause of justice forward.”
“The arc of the moral universe is long and it bends toward justice.”
“I came to the conclusion that there is an existential moment in your life when you must decide to speak for yourself: nobody else can speak for you.”
“Now is the time to make justice a reality for all.”
“The hope of a secure and liveable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood. Without justice, there can be no peace. He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who perpetrates it.”
“The only normalcy we will settle for is the normalcy of brotherhood, the normalcy of true peace, the normalcy of justice.”
“Justice denied anywhere, diminishes justice everywhere.”
“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concern to the broader concern of all humanity.”
“We need leaders not in love with money, but in love with justice. Not in love with publicity, but in love with humanity.”
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable … Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”
“Never succumb to the temptation of becoming bitter. As you press for justice, be sure to move with dignity and discipline, using only the instruments of love.”
“Stand up for justice, stand up for truth, and God will be at your side forever.”
“Courage is the power of the mind to overcome fear.”
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
“It is not possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people.”
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
“Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability but comes through continuous struggle.”
“Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.”
“Injustice Anywhere, Is a Threat to Justice Everywhere.”
If you are being subjected to workplace discrimination, contact Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law today for a free consultation. I am an aggressive and compassionate employment law attorney who is experienced in successfully representing persons who were subjected to racial harassment and retaliation in the workplace and/or were fired. If you have experienced racism at work, or if you reported it and no action was taken, if you are thinking of resigning, or think you will be fired, or have been fired, it is important that you consult with an attorney who is experienced in discrimination.
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