Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

   "A time comes when silence is betrayal. Even when pressed by the Demands of inner truth,

 men [sic] do not easily assume the task of opposing their government's policy, especially

in time of war. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the 

apathy of conformist thought within one's own bosom and in the surrounding world. 

Moreover, when the issues at hand seem as perplexing as they often do in the case of 

dreadful conflict, we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by uncertainty. But we 

must move on." 

"Some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the 

calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak. We must speak with all 

the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak. For we are 

deeply in need of a new way beyond the darkness that seems so close around us."

"We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for the victims of our nation, 

for those it calls "enemy", for no document from human hands can make these humans any 

less our brothers. I think of them, too, because it is clear to me that there will be no 

meaningful solution until some attempt is made to know them and hear their broken cries."

"I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world   revolution, we as a 

nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a 

thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit 

motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets 

of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered."

"A true revolution of values will lay hand on the world order and say of war, "This way of 

settling differences is not just." A nation that continues year and year to spend more 

money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."

"America, the richest and most powerful nation in the world, can well lead the way in this 

revolution of values. There is nothing except a tragic death wish to prevent us from 

reordering our priorities over the pursuit of war." 

"This call for a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one's tribe, 

clan, race, class, and nation is in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional

love for all mankind. We can no longer afford to worship the God of hate or bow before 

the altar of retaliation.  The oceans of history are made turbulent by the ever-rising 

tides of hate.  History is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and individuals that 

pursed this self-defeating path of hate."

"We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent co-annihilation. We must

move past indecision to action. If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the 

long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who posses power without 

compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight."

"Now let us begin. Now let us rededicate ourselves in the long and bitter, but beautiful 

struggle for a new world. If we will but make the right choice, we will be able to speed 

up the day, all over America and all over the world, when justice will roll down like 

waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

"May our country, on the brink of war, take to heart the final refrain of "America, the 

Beautiful":

"America! America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law."

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 
Delivered at Riverside Church 
New York City, April 4th, 1967