We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.

Character

I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

Courage

We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.

Dreams

Now, I say to you today my friends, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: -- we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.

Excellence

If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well.

Freedom

The Negro needs the white man to free him from his fears. The white man needs the Negro to free him from his guilt.

Hope

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

Joy

Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. Their meanings can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart.

Mind

We must combine the toughness of the serpent with the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart.

Peace

Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.

Revenge

That old law about "an eye for an eye" leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing.

Right and Rightness

When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative.

Thoughts and Thinking

Nothing pains some people more than having to think.

Virtue

The time is always right to do what is right.