"For more than two centuries our foreparents..." - Quote by Martin Luther King Jr
For more than two centuries our foreparents labored here without wages; they made cotton king; and they built the homes of their masters in the midst of brutal injustice and shameful humiliation - and yet out of a bottomless vitality our people continue to thrive and develop.
More by Martin Luther King Jr
“Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.”
“The potential beauty of human life is constantly made ugly by man's ever-recurring song of retaliation.”
“Ordinarily, a person leaving a courtroom with a conviction behind him would wear a somber face. But I left with a smile. I knew that I was a convicted criminal, but I was proud of my crime.”
More on Perseverance
“In life we have many disappointments. Those who go on to greater things dwell on the disappointments briefly and then move on”
“Some men can get results if kindly encouraged, but give me the kind that do things in spite of hell.”
“Sometimes, carrying on, just carrying on, is the superhuman achievement.”
More on Slavery
“The chains of a slave are broken the moment he considers himself a free man.”
“The name of peace is sweet and the thing itself good, but between peace and slavery there is the greatest difference.”
“Whether slavery shall go into Nebraska, or other new territories, is not a matter of exclusive concern to the people who may go there. The whole nation is interested that the best use shall be made of these territories. We want them for the homes of free white people.”