"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." "Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step

"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." "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." "Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted." "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." "The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education." "Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men." "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom." "Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion awaiting burial." "Capitalism does not permit an even flow of economic resources. With this system, a small privileged few are rich beyond conscience, and almost all others are doomed to be poor at some level. That's the way the system works. And since we know that the system will not change the rules, we are going to have to change the system." "The principle of self defense, even involving weapons and bloodshed, has never been condemned, even by Gandhi." "It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it." "Property is intended to serve life, and no matter how much we surround it with rights and respect, it has no personal being. It is part of the earth man walks on. It is not man." "Don't let anybody make you think God chose America as His divine messianic force to be a sort of policeman of the whole world." "Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. I am not unmindful of the fact that violence often brings about momentary results. Nations have frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace." "I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law." "Means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek." "The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood." "Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power; religion gives man wisdom which is control." "The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be... The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists."