A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches

by Clayborne Carson, Kris Shepard, Martin Luther King Jr.

This collection includes the text of Dr. King's best-known oration, "I Have a Dream, " his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize, and "Beyond Vietnam, " a compelling argument for ending the ongoing conflict. Each speech has an insightful introduction on the current relevance of Dr. King's words by such renowned defenders of civil rights as Rosa Parks, the Dalai Lama, and Ambassador Andrew Young, among others.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Politics, Essays, Biography, Race, Audiobook

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Clayborne Carson is professor of history at Stanford University, and director of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute. Since 1985 he has directed the Martin Luther King Papers Project, a long-term project to edit and publish the papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reviews

[Stefania Dzhanamova · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short book is a collection of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s most famous and impactful speeches, such as The Birth of a New Nation, I Have a Dream, Beyond Vietnam, and others. 

King was, clearly, a brilliant public speaker, who captivated the audience not only with his words, but also with his delivery of them. Watching him speak from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on television, President John F. Kennedy was deeply impressed, which makes me think that witnessing a speech by King was probably an incredible experience, one that cannot be compared with reading the texts of his speeches like I did. However, I would like to point out that in written form his words are also memorable and thought-provoking.

King was often accused of coming into a particular situation and introducing, or causing, violence. From his speeches, though, it becomes evident that he was unmasking, not provoking, what was there all the time – the violence, the hate, and the exploitation. He was allowing things that were on everybody's mind to come to the surface. There were hatreds and racist attitudes of an ingrained kind and suddenly, because he was there and because he was interested in trying to speak the truth forcefully, different people began talking about them more, and it was disruptive and violent, but it was also good and lasting. He was like a stranger who had come into a household and was able to see the issues that the family had been trying to suppress.

What I appreciated about the organization of this collection is that before every speech there is an introduction, usually by a civil rights activist connected to King in one way or another. This provided me with much needed context about the speeches that I had previously been unfamiliar with and allowed me to envision the scenes. For instance, Rosa Parks writes in her introduction to King's address to the first Montgomery improvement association that he spoke "in the rich, poised baritone and learned eloquence that distinguished even this debut speech of his career as a civil rights leader" and "showed no trace of doubt or hesitancy." 

Regarding the speeches, I also have to say that they are full of interesting, wise thoughts and that they disprove any claims that King instigated disturbances. All that he preached was compassion and nonviolence. He saw nonviolent methods of protest as a powerful sword that was "unsheathed from its scabbard" when people joined hands to defeat evil. 

I have been reading about Daniel Berrigan, the nonviolent Catholic protester who was inspired by King, and it is clear that King's influence on him had been huge as they both speak of the need to take nonviolent action to prevent violent destruction. One of the quotes that left the greatest impression on me is: "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 pursued this self-defeating path of hate." 

A CALL TO CONSCIENCE does not leave much for me to discuss as its value lies in King's speeches, which are superior to anything that I can say about them. This book is meant to read and thought about by each one of us. 

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually listened to this on audio. Multiple times.
I would not recommend reading these speeches, but HEARING them on audio from MLK's own mouth. The introductions are great and provide some history to where he was when he wrote and gave each speech.
I cannot say how many times throughout these speeches I had goosebumps on my skin. Truly incredible and something that every American should listen to at least once.

The best of this group for me was "Give us the Ballot", "Where do we go from here?" and the absolutely riveting, most powerful speech I have ever heard to this day is the last one in this collection: "I've been to the mountaintop" - a speech he gave the day before he was assassinated in 1960. The first and last tracks are, of course, unforgettable.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

King’s words about power and love, nonviolent social change, and courageous conscience are radiant. His training was in philosophy of religion. The way he internalized and mobilized the lessons of theology and philosophy created a depth of leadership that put him the company of very few. If you didn’t live through the events themselves, I highly recommend this audiobook. A few lines that stood out:

“Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”

“Another way that you love your enemy is this: When the opportunity presents itself for you to defeat your enemy, that is the time which you must not do it. There will come a time, in many instances, when the person who hates you most, the person who has misused you most, the person who has gossiped about you most, the person who has spread false rumors about you most, there will come a time when you will have an opportunity to defeat that person. It might be in terms of a recommendation for a job; it might be in terms of helping that person to make some move in life. That’s the time you must do it. . . . Love is creative, understanding goodwill for all men. It is the refusal to defeat any individual. When you rise to the level of love, of its great beauty and power, you seek only to defeat evil systems. Individuals who happen to be caught up in that system, you love, but you seek to defeat the system.”

“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they have not communicated with each other.”

[Aaron S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martin Luther King Jr. is easily, without a doubt one the greatest human beings to ever live! I seriously love this man! The passion, strength, and wisdom Mr. King displays through his brilliant speaking is not to be missed.

[Benjamin Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had only read excerpts of a couple of his speeches prior to this. I would highly recommend reading this, and would highly request a publisher for an updated version with maybe a few more speeches.

[booklady · Rating 4 out of 5]

On Disc Six, in the Introduction to "Where Do We Go From Here?" written and read by Senator Edward M. Kennedy we hear a particularly ironic defense of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977. As the good Senator's words were composed and delivered sometime prior to the year 2000, they were no doubt a justification of current actions to prove that all was well with CRA. As we now know, it wasn't. Had I listened to this even five months ago, I'm not sure CRA would have meant anything to me.

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From the first speech, "I See the Promised Land":

'...The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around. That's a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men, in some strange way, are responding--something is happening in our world.'

Just one of many WOW(!) quotes. Change it to 'twenty-first century' and it is still true!

I'm glad I realized these speeches would be on-line. Now I don't have to pull-over to write them down or have an accident while I keep replaying really good parts!

Excellent material and the sound quality is also extremely good. Nice intro.

I was really impressed to learn that our OKC Archbishop marched with Dr. King at Selma in 1965.

[Rebecca Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read. I feel like I was taught a watered down version of MLK. Yes he spoke so highly of action and non violence but he also made such strong claims about diversity, protest, foreign affairs, capitalism, etc. so much of what he talked about is still sadly relevant today and in need of reform.

[Bruce Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great American speeches by a great American, especially the Address at Freedom Hall Rally in Detroit - Cobo Hall -- precedent to I Have a Dream and better.

[Misha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The man had some rhetorical game.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

MLK, jr is a masterful orator. his words are as beautiful as the ideals he upholds and I've riddled my copy of this book with highlighted passages while reading. Obviously, his "I have a dream" speech is probably the one that people are most familiar with, but as I read through this collection, it was interesting to see how bits and pieces of that speech had already been interwoven into many of his others.

This portion of his Nobel peace prize acceptance speech was especially powerful to me and just as relevant today (and maybe even more so) than it was back then:

"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.

I believe that even amid today's mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow.

I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men.

I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits.

I believe that what self-centered men have torn down, men other-centered can build up.

I believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive goodwill proclaimed the rule of the land. And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together, and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree, and none shall be afraid.

I still believe we shall overcome."

(goosebumps everywhere, right??)

[Paul Stanton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The explicit definition of standing up for yourself, your nation in defiance of the corrupt government system that holds a people captive under racial oppression of others views about the culture and values of a group of people is graphic proof that one man had the courage to stand up straight. The speeches of Dr. King contained in the book are as relevant today as they were in the 1950s and the 1960s. I believe this book, when read by any individual, will either change the individual’s views and character, and if not changing them it’s because the individual has no spiritual conscience. I feel more empowered by reading this book and remembering the times I heard Dr. King’s speeches that first touched my soul that I am now more energized and more motivated to continue his work for all of my remaining years of life so as to pass on Dr. King’s wisdom, knowledge and work for the future of all people of the United States of America.

[Roy Peek · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading "A call to Conscience". It is still very clear that Martin Luther King Jr was right on with his thoughts and ideas.

What hit me from his words and applies even more with the happenings of society today is not what is in it for me.

But if I don't stop and I Do Not participate in the change what will happen to others. His quote in Memphis "If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them."

Perfect concept for today's environment. If we all DO NOT stop to help promote change and understanding between all what will happen to others.

Please do what you can to listen to others, hear what they are saying, help promote change, promote understanding and to promote equality for all.

Excellent read and if you have not read these speeches word for word, make the time to do so it will be enlightening for you.

[Billy · Rating 4 out of 5]

He said, in other words, ‘Your whole structure must be changed.’ A nation that will keep people in slavery for 244 years will ‘thingify’ them—make them things. Therefore they will exploit them, and poor people generally, economically. And a nation that will exploit economically will have to have foreign investments and everything else, and will have to use its military might to protect them. All of these problems are tied together. What I am saying today is that we must go from this convention and say, “America, you must be born again!” –1967

[Anusha Arumugam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Call to Conscience is exactly what MLK’s eloquent, poetic speeches effect: they have the enduring power to stir our conscience and indelible effect of making the struggle for constitutional rights a matter of principle and being. Against ubiquitous segregation, institutionalized racial discrimination, police brutality and denial of political and constitutional rights, MLK’s stirring words capture the length and breadth of the civil rights movement. His speeches are curated to depict the facets of the Blacks’ struggle for equal rights- equal opportunities and equal treatment and highlight their victimization of the most tragic crimes perpetrated against humanity. MLK is, no less, a martyr of a holy crusade for freedom and human dignity.

This is about the fifteenth time I am reading this book. MLK’s speeches have, for a long time now, become my Bible for political writing.

[Gina Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

AmblesideOnline year 11 book. I listened to most of this. The audible book has the introductions to the speeches read by some famous people and most of the speeches are actual recordings of King. Because of that I highly recommend having a copy of the book as well. Most of them were good recordings and easy to understand but a few were next to impossible. I wish I had stopped it and written down quotes and made notes but alas, I didn’t. It was very good and he goes well beyond the typical “I have a dream” speech.

[Malisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook with the original audio (powerful) and read his speeches. He was an incredibly thoughtful, inspiring, and talented orator. “I have a dream that one day...”is the climax of his ‘March On Washington’ speech and climbing to the summit with him to those infamous words makes it that much more special. These works are timeless and as important today as they were 60 years ago. His thoughts and words are a real national treasure. It should be in the same category as Anne Frank as required school reading material.

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

My heart gave a thrill when he said “Evil may so shape events that Caesar will occupy a palace and Christ a cross, but that same Christ will rise up and split history into A.D. and B.C., so that even the life of Caesar must be dated by his name. Yes, ‘the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.'” (I believe this was in the second or third sermon of this collection). As a believer that is the very best news, and for anyone grieving injustice, it is the only true solution.
This was the first time I listened to an extended collection of his sermons and speeches and I was blown away. The audio quality of the first sermon is so poor that I could barely understand what he said. After that the quality is better. I have a greater appreciation of his intellect, his speaking abilities, and his strategic approach to an economic rebellion. We always hear of his commitment to non-violence, but his vision was much bigger than that.

[Sherry Peek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always heard snippets of King’s speeches, and was eager to read the 11 speeches included in this book. It truly showed the eloquence of his words and how truly smart the man was. The whole time I’m reading I could hear the cadence of his voice. The brilliance of the non-violence campaign allowed us to truly see the horrors and injustices of segregation and racism.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches are written so beautifully and delivered so powerfully. He is heavy handed with personification, allusion, symbolism, and metaphor and uses a lot of repetition and rhythm to stress his points. These speeches emphasize the peaceful nature of his outlook and the importance of civil rights in America. I listened to a lot of these speeches as I read along, which I highly recommend. He is a powerful orator and was such an influential person in his time and to this day. Multiple speeches had me deeply touched and moved to tears.


Montgomery Improvement Association
The only weapon that we have in our hands this evening is the weapon of protest.

There is never a time in our American democracy that we must ever think we are wrong when we protest. We reserve that right. When labor all over this nation came to see that it would be trampled over by capitalistic power, it was nothing wrong with labor getting together and organizing and protesting for its rights. We, the disinherited of this land, we who have been oppressed so long, are tired of going through the long night of captivity. And now we are reaching out for the daybreak of freedom and justice and equality.

But I want to tell you this evening that it is not enough for us to talk about love, love is one of the pivotal points of the Christian faith. There is another side called justice. And justice is really love in calculation. Justice is love correcting that which revolts against love.

Birth of a New Nation
Freedom only comes through persistent revolt, through persistent agitation, through persistently rising up against the system of evil.

The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community. The aftermath of nonviolence is redemption. The aftermath of nonviolence is reconciliation. The aftermath of violence are emptiness and bitterness. This is the thing I’m concerned about. Let us fight passionately and unrelentingly for the goals of justice and peace. But let’s be sure that our hands are clean in this struggle. Let us never fight with falsehood and violence and hate and malice, but always fight with love, so that when the day comes that the walls of segregation have completely crumbled in Montgomery, that we will be able to live with people as their brothers and sisters.

You must remember that, that the tensionless period that we like to think of was the period when the Negro was complacently adjusted to segregation, discrimination, insult and exploitation. And the period of tension is the period when the Negro has decided to rise up and break aloose from that. And this is the peace that we are seeking. Not an old negative obnoxious peace, which is merely the absence of tension, but a positive lasting peace, which is the presence of brotherhood and justice. And it is never brought about without this temporary period of tension.

Give Us The Ballot
This dearth of positive leadership from the federal government is not confined to one particular political party. Both political parties have betrayed the cause of justice. The Democrats have betrayed it by capitulating to the prejudices and undemocratic practices of the southern Dixiecrats. The Republicans have betrayed it by capitulating to the blatant hypocrisy of right wing, reactionary northerners. These men so often have a high blood pressure of words and an anemia of deeds.

We must meet hate with love. We must meet physical force with soul force. There is still a voice crying out through the vista of time, saying: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you.” Then, and only then, can you matriculate into the university of eternal life. That same voice cries out in terms lifted to cosmic proportions: “He who lives by the sword will perish by the sword.” And history is replete with the bleached bones of nations that failed to follow this command. We must follow nonviolence and love.

Freedom Rally at Cobo Hall
It says first that the Negro is no longer willing to accept racial segregation in any of its dimensions. For we have come to see that segregation is not only sociologically untenable, it is not only politically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful. Segregation is a cancer in the body politic, which must be removed before our democratic health can be realized. Segregation is wrong because it is nothing but a new form of slavery covered up with certain niceties of complexity. Segregation is wrong because it is a system of adultery perpetuated by an illicit intercourse between injustice and immorality.

I think we all will agree that probably the most damaging effect of segregation has been what it has done to the soul of the segregated as well as the segregator. It has given the segregator a false sense of superiority and it has left the segregated with a false sense of inferiority.

And so this social revolution taking place can be summarized in three little words. They are not big words. One does not need an extensive vocabulary to understand them. They are the words "all," "here," and “now." We want all of our rights, we want them here, and we want them now.

For we've come to see the power of nonviolence. We've come to see that this method is not a weak method, for it's the strong man who can stand up amid opposition, who can stand up amid violence being inflicted upon him and not retaliate with violence.

I can understand from a psychological point of view why some caught up in the clutches of the injustices surrounding them almost respond with bitterness and come to the conclusion that the problem can't be solved within, and they talk about getting away from it in terms of racial separation. But even though I can understand it psychologically, I must say to you this afternoon that this isn't the way. Black supremacy is as dangerous as white supremacy. No, I hope you will allow me to say to vou this afternoon that God is not interested merely in the freedom of black men and brown men and yellow men. God is interested in the freedom of the whole human race. And I believe that with this philosophy and this determined struggle we will be able to go on in the days ahead and transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.

…realizing that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

I Have A Dream
Now it the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

I would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of it’s colored citizens. This sweltering summer of the colored people’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.

There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the colored citizen is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, when will you be satisfied? We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: for whites only. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.
No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

So 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.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.

Eulogy For The Young Victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing
Now I say to you in conclusion, life is hard, at times as hard as crucible steel. It has its bleak and difficult moments. Like the ever-flowing waters of the river, life has its moments of drought and its moments of flood. Like the ever-changing cycle of the seasons, life has the soothing warmth of its summers and the piercing chill of its winters. And if one will hold on, he will discover that God walks with him, and that God is able to lift you from the fatigue of despair to the buoyancy of hope, and transform dark and desolate valleys into sunlit paths of inner peace.
And so today, you do not walk alone. You gave to this world wonderful children. They didn’t live long lives, but they lived meaningful lives. Their lives were distressingly small in quantity, but glowingly large in quality. And no greater tribute can be paid to you as parents, and no greater epitaph can come to them as children, than where they died and what they were doing when they died. They did not die in the dives and dens of Birmingham, nor did they die discussing and listening to filthy jokes. They died between the sacred walls of the church of God, and they were discussing the eternal meaning of love. This stands out as a beautiful, beautiful thing for all generations.

Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech
Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace, and thereby transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. If this is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.

I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up.

When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds and our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, we will know that we are living in the creative turmoil of a genuine civilization struggling to be born.

Selma to Montgomery
Yes, we are on the move and no wave of racism can stop us. We are on the move now. The burning of our churches will not deter us. The bombing of our homes will not dissuade us. We are on the move now. The beating and killing of our clergymen and young people will not divert us. We are on the move now. The wanton release of their known murderers would not discourage us. We are on the move now. Like an idea whose time has come, not even the marching of mighty armies can halt us. We are moving to the land of freedom.

It is normalcy all over our country which leaves the Negro perishing on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of vast ocean of material prosperity. It is normalcy all over Alabama that prevents the Negro from becoming a registered voter. No, we will not allow Alabama to return to normalcy. The only normalcy that we will settle for is the normalcy that recognizes the dignity and worth of all of God’s children. The only normalcy that we will settle for is the normalcy that allows judgment to run down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream. The only normalcy that we will settle for is the normalcy of brotherhood, the normalcy of true peace, the normalcy of justice.

Beyond Vietnam
So we have been repeatedly faced with the cruel irony of watching Negro and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for a nation that has been unable to seat them together in the same schools. So we watch them in brutal solidarity burning the huts of a poor village, but we realize that they would hardly live on the same block in Chicago. I could not be silent in the face of such cruel manipulation of the poor.

Now, it should be incandescently clear that no one who has any concern for the integrity and life of America today can ignore the present war. If America's soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read "Vietnam."

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, 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 soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will look across the seas and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa, and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the countries, and say: "This is not just." It will look at our alliance with the landed gentry of South America and say: “This is not just." The Western arrogance of feeling that it has everything to teach others and nothing to learn from them is not just.

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 pursued this self-defeating path of hate. As Arnold Toynbee says: "Love is the ultimate force that makes for the saving choice of life and good against the damning choice of death and evil. Therefore the first hope in our inventory must be the hope that love is going to have the last word."

Where Do We Go From Here?
Where do we go from here? First, we must massively assert our dignity and worth. We must stand up amid a system that still oppresses us and develop an unassailable and majestic sense of values. We must no longer be ashamed of being black. The job of arousing manhood within a people that have been taught for so many centuries that they are nobody is not easy.

To offset this cultural homicide, the Negro must rise up with an affirmation of his own Olympian manhood. Any movement for the Negro’s freedom that overlooks this necessity is only waiting to be buried. As long as the mind is enslaved, the body can never be free. Psychological freedom, a firm sense of self-esteem, is the most powerful weapon against the long night of physical slavery. No Lincolnian Emancipation Proclamation, no Johnsonian civil rights bill can totally bring this kind of freedom. The Negro will only be free when he reaches down to the inner depths of his own being and signs with the pen and ink of assertive manhood his own emancipation proclamation. And with a spirit straining toward true self-esteem, the Negro must boldly throw off the manacles of self-abnegation and say to himself and to the world, “I am somebody. I am a person. I am a man with dignity and honor. I have a rich and noble history, however painful and exploited that history has been. Yes, I was a slave through my foreparents and now I’m not ashamed of that. I’m ashamed of the people who were so sinful to make me a slave.” Yes, yes, we must stand up and say, “I’m black, but I’m black and beautiful.” This self-affirmation is the black man’s need, made compelling by the white man’s crimes against him.

Let us be dissatisfied until America will no longer have a high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds.
Let us be dissatisfied until the tragic walls that separate the outer city of wealth and comfort from the inner city of poverty and despair shall be crushed by the battering rams of the forces of justice. Let us be dissatisfied until those who live on the outskirts of hope are brought into the metropolis of daily security. Let us be dissatisfied until slums are cast into the junk heaps of history and every family will live in a decent, sanitary home. Let us be dissatisfied until the dark yesterdays of segregated schools will be transformed into bright tomorrows of quality integrated education. Let us be dissatisfied until integration is not seen as a problem but as an opportunity to participate in the beauty of diversity. Let us be dissatisfied until men and women, however black they may be, will be judged on the basis of the content of their character, not on the basis of the color of their skin. Let us be dissatisfied. Let us be dissatisfied until every state capitol will be housed by a governor who will do justly, who will love mercy, and who will walk humbly with his God. Let us be dissatisfied until from every city hall, justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream. Let us be dissatisfied until that day when the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man will sit under his own vine and fig tree, and none shall be afraid. Let us be dissatisfied and men will recognize that out of one blood God made all men to dwell upon the face of the earth. Let us be dissatisfied until that day when nobody will shout, “White Power!” when nobody will shout, “Black Power!” but everybody will talk about God’s power and human power.

I’ve Been To The Mountaintop
know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men, in some strange way, are responding--something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up.
And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya: Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee--the cry is always the same--"We want to be free."

All we say to America is, "Be true to what you said on paper." If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they hadn't committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of the press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right. And so just as I say, we aren't going to let any injunction turn us around.
We are going on.

We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a uh long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain.
And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic compilation of some of King’s greatest speeches, from Montgomery to the Lincoln Memorial to Memphis! It also includes interesting forwards by some that knew him. His words not only teach us the history of that time (1955-1968), but how we can and still need to stand up for freedom and justice today.

"Death is not a period that ends the great sentence of life, but a comma that punctuates it to more lofty significance. Death is not a blind alley that leads the human race into a state of nothingness, but an open door which leads man into life eternal (viii)."

"'Martin's voice was more than…intellectual ideals and spiritual vision. It was a call for action…which he personally led from…the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 until his assassination in Memphis in 1968. Martin spoke with the passion and poetry of the prophets of old. He proclaimed for our time the faith that justice can and will prevail. He saw leadership as a process of relating the daily plight of humankind to the eternal truths of creation…. His oratory sought to forge a new state of justice with mercy through the power of truth without violence--truth that sought to bring all men and women together as brothers and sisters: truth spoken in love and mercy that believed the world's conflicts could be reconciled in the power of the human spirit without resorting to violence…. Martin came to symbolize and vocalize the hopes and aspirations of oppressed people all over the planet (Andrew Young, p vii, viii, ix).'"

"'The excitement around the church was electrifying, and I remember having a sense that something powerful was being born…. He'd only had twenty minutes to prepare for 'the most decisive speech of my life.' He spent five minutes of his time worry about it, and then wisely prayed to God for guidance…. What gave his speeches and sermons legitimacy was that Dr. King didn't just talk the talk; he walked the walk from Montgomery to Memphis, enduring jails, beatings, abuse, threats, the bombing of his home, and the highest sacrifice a person can make for a righteous cause (Rosa Parks, p 2, 3, 4).'"

"The great glory of American democracy is the right to protest for right (p 9)."

"We only assemble here because of our desire to see right exist (p 10)."

"We, the disinherited of this land, we who have been oppressed so long, are tired of going through the long night of captivity. And now we are reaching out for the daybreak of freedom and justice and equality.... Let us be Christian in all our actions... it is not enough for us to talk about love, love is one of the pivotal points of the Christian faith. There is another side called justice. And justice is really love in calculation. Justice is love correcting that which revolts against love (p 11)."

"There seems to be a throbbing desire…an internal desire for freedom within the soul of every man... freedom is something basic. To rob a man of his freedom is to take from him the essential basis of his manhood. To take from him his freedom is to rob him of something of God's image (p 20)."

"Nkrumah stood up and made his closing speech to Parliament with the little cap that he wore in prison for several months…. The old Union Jack flag came down and the new flag of Ghana went up. This was…a new nation being born…. Yes, there is a wilderness ahead, though it is my hope that even people from America will go to Africa as immigrants, right there to the Gold Coast and lend their technical assistance. For there is great need and rich, there are rich opportunities there (p 25, 26, 28)."

"Never underestimate a people because it's small now (p 29)."

"Privileged classes never give up their privileges without strong resistance (p 30)."

"If we wait for it to work itself out, it will never be worked out! Freedom only comes through persistent revolt, through persistent agitation, through persistently rising up against the system of evil. The bus protest is just the beginning (p 30)."

"If there had not been a Gandhi in India with all of his noble followers, India would have never been free. If there had not been an Nkrumah and his followers in Ghana, Ghana would still be a British colony. If there had not been abolitionists in America, both Negro and white, we might still stand today in the dungeons of slavery.... there are always though people in every period of human history who don't mind getting their necks cut off, who don't mind being persecuted and discriminated and kicked about, but it comes through the persistent and the continual agitation and revolt on the part of those who are caught in the system... a nation or a people can break aloose from oppression without violence (p 31)."

"We've got to revolt in such a way that after revolt is over we can live with people as their brothers and their sisters. Our aim must never be to defeat them or humiliate them... The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community.... always fight with love, so that, when the day comes that the walls of segregation have completely crumbled in Montgomery, that we will be able to live with people as their brothers and sisters (p 32)."

"Freedom never comes on a silver platter. It's never easy... whenever you break out of Egypt, you better get ready for stiff backs. You better get ready for some homes to be bombed.... [freedom] comes only through the hardness and persistence of life (p 33)."

"I stood there in awe thinking about the greatness of God and man's feeble attempt to reach up for God (p 36)."

"My friends, rise up and know that, as you struggle for justice, you do not struggle alone. But God struggles with you. And He is working every day (p 39)."

"Somehow we will discover that we are made to live together as brothers... men will recognize the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man (p 41)."

"All types of conniving methods are still being used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters. The denial of this sacred right is a tragic betrayal of the highest mandates of our democratic tradition. And so our most urgent request to the president of the United States and every member of Congress is to give us the right to vote. Give us the ballot, and we will no longer have to worry the federal government about our basic rights (p 47)."

"We come to Washington today pleading with the president and members of Congress to provide a strong, moral, and courageous leadership for a situation that cannot permanently be evaded. We come humbly to say to the men in the forefront of our government that the civil rights issue is not an ephemeral, evanescent domestic issue that can be kicked about by reactionary guardians of the status quo; it is rather an eternal moral issue which may well determine the destiny of our nation in the ideological struggle with communism (p 49)."

"What we are witnessing today in so many northern communities is a sort of quasi-liberalism which is based on the principle of looking sympathetically at all sides. It is a liberalism so bent on seeing all sides, that it fails to become committed to either side. It is a liberalism that is so objectively analytical that it is not subjectively committed (p 50)."

"We are grappling with the most weighty social problem of this nation, and in grappling with such a complex problem there is no place for misguided emotionalism. We must work passionately and unrelentingly for the goal of freedom, but we must be sure that our hands are clean in the struggle... We must never become bitter (p 51)."

"I'm talking about the love of God in the hearts of men. I'm talking about the type of love which will cause you to love the person who does the evil deed while hating the deed that the person does. We've got to love (p 52)."

"We must act in such a way as to make possible a coming together of white people and colored people on the basis of a real harmony of interest and understanding. We must seek an integration based on mutual respect (p 54)."

"Almost one hundred years ago, on September the twenty-second, 1862, to be exact, a great and noble American, Abraham Lincoln, signed an executive order, which was to take effect on January the first, 1863. This executive order was called the Emancipation Proclamation and it served to free the Negro from the bondage of physical slavery. But one hundred years later, the Negro in the United States of American still isn't free (p 62)."

"The Negro is no longer willing to accept racial segregation in any of its dimensions… segregation is not only sociologically untenable, it is not only politically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful. Segregation is a cancer in the body politic, which must be removed before our democratic health can be realized (p 62)."

"If a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live (p 67)."

"Black supremacy is as dangerous as white supremacy (p 69)."

"I have a dream that one day, right down in Georgia and Mississippi and Alabama, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to live together as brothers (p 71)."

"'When I looked out over the crowd as Dr. King finished his speech, I felt that, at last, we were all united in creating a new society. He had done more than deliver a speech. He had sent out a challenge to the world. It was as though he had seen into the hearts and souls of people everywhere and touched their deepest longing for a shared destiny, a common purpose, a sense of mission (Dorothy I. Height, p 78).'"

"Fivescore years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. In came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro is still not free (p 81)."

"In a sense we come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the 'unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.' It is obvious today that American has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned (p 81)."

"Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice… Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children (p 82)."

"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 lie out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'.... I have a dream that one day my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character (p 85)."

"'From every moutainside, let freedom ring (p 86)!'"

"When we allow freedom ring…from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing the words of the old Negro spiritual: 'Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last (p 87)!'"

"We must not despair. We must not become bitter, nor must we harbor the desire to retaliate with violence. No, we must not lose faith in our white brothers. Somehow we must believe that the most misguided among them can learn to respect the dignity and the worth of all human personality (p 97)."

"Death comes to every individual. There is an amazing democracy about death. It is not aristocracy for some of the people, but a democracy for all of the people. Kings die and beggars die; rich men and poor men die; old people die and young people die. Death comes to the innocent and it comes to the guilty. Death is the irreducible common denominator of all men (p 97)."

"'It was entirely fitting that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., should have been a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, for he is one of the great heroes of our time. When his people were crying out for freedom, he had the courage to lead them to it…. Truth is the best guarantor of freedom and democracy. It does not matter whether you are weak or strong, or whether your cause has many or few adherents. Truth will still prevail (Dalai Lama, p 101, 102).'"

"I accept this award on behalf of a civil rights movement which is moving with determination and a majestic scorn for risk and danger to establish a reign of freedom and a rule of justice (p 105)."

"Sooner or later, all the peoples of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace, and thereby transform his pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood (p 106)."

"I refuse to accept the idea that the 'is-ness' of man's present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal 'ought-ness' that forever confronts him (p 107)."

"I accept this prize on behalf of all men who love peace and brotherhood (p 108)."

"'This man--this son of the American South, this citizen of the world--had the ability to produce light in dark places. He had the capacity to bring hope in a time of hopelessness. When he spoke, the masses knew from his words that they were somebody.... He spoke for all of us. Dr. King called upon the conscience of the nation.... We must never, ever give up. We must use our bodies, use our hands, use our feet, and use our voices as tools to help build the Beloved Community... Starting with the imagery of weary feet, Dr. King reminds us that we must find a way to do the work of the Master. Today, in our time, we have the power to bring down the walls of racism, the walls of poverty, and the walls of intolerance...we march on with faith and hope and love (John Lewis, p 112, 115, 116).'"

"Racial segregation as a way of life did not come about as a natural result of hatred between the races immediately after the Civil War. There were no laws segregating the races (p 122)."

"The battle is in our hands...The road ahead is not altogether a smooth one. There are no broad highways that lead us easily and inevitably to quick solutions. But we must keep going (p 128)."

"'Glory, hallelujah! His truth is marching on (p 132).''"

"'The deepening involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War presented a difficult challenge for Martin Luther King.... Dr. King believed...that those other Americans could carry the effort against the war, and that he must continue to hold the civil rights banner. Yet as the war dragged on...Dr. King decided…as a fighter for justice and humanity, he must publicly state his concern relative to Vietnam (George McGovern, p 135).'"

"'A time comes when silence is betrayal.' That time has come for us in relation to Vietnam (p 140)."

"Conflicts are never resolved without trustful give and take on both sides (p 142)."

"We have been repeatedly faced with the cruel irony of watching Negro and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for a nation that has been unable to seat them together in the same schools. So we watch them in brutal solidarity burning the huts of a poor village, but we realize that they would hardly live on the same block in Chicago. I could not be silent in the face of such cruel manipulation of the poor (p 143)."

"We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for the victims of our nation (p 146)."

"The war in Vietnam is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit, and if we ignore this sobering reality we will find ourselves organizing 'clergy and laymen concerned' committees for the next generation... such thoughts take us beyond Vietnam, but not beyond our calling as sons of the living God (p 156)."

"'Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable (John F. Kennedy, p 157).'"

"A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies (p 158)."

"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death (p 159)."

"We must not engage in a negative anti-communism, but rather in a positive thrust for democracy (p 159)."

"Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies (p 160)."

"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 pursued this self-defeating path of hate (p 161)."

"'Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide.... Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own (James Russell Lowell, p 163).'"

"'Too often, when people look back on the history of the Civil Rights Movement, they draw a false distinction between the issues of moral justice and economic justice. As Dr. King understood, we can never fully achieve one without the other (Edward M. Kennedy, p 165).'"

"The problem that we face is that the ghetto is a domestic colony that's constantly drained without being replenished..Put something back in the ghetto (p 179)."

"We still need some Paul Revere of conscience to alert every hamlet and every village of America that revolution is still at hand (p 182)."

"'The work which improves the condition of mankind, the work which extends knowledge and increases power and enriches literature and elevates thought, is not done to secure a living (Henry George, p 188).'"

"You can't murder hate through violence. Darkness cannot put out darkness; only light can do that (p 191)."

"He who hates does not know God, but he who loves has the key that unlocks the door to the meaning of ultimate reality (p 192)."

"Communism forgets that life is individual. Capitalism forgets that life is social. And the kingdom of brotherhood is found neither in the thesis of communism nor the antithesis of capitalism, but in a higher synthesis (p 194)."

"'America, you must be born again (p 195)!'"

"Let us be dissatisfied until the tragic walls that separate the outer city of wealth and comfort form the inner city of poverty and despair shall be crushed by...the forces of justice... Let us be dissatisfied until slums are cast into the junk heaps of history, and every family will live in a decent, sanitary home…. Let us be dissatisfied until that day when nobody will shout, ‘White Power!’ when nobody will shout, ‘Black Power!’ but everybody will talk about God’s power and human power (p 196).”

“Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars (p 209).”

“I’m just happy that God has allowed me to live in this period, to see what is unfolding. And I’m happy that he’s allowed me to be in Memphis (p 210).”

“We have an annual income of more than thirty billion dollars a year, which is more than all of the exports of the United States and more than the national budget of Canada. Did you know that? That’s power right there, if we know how to pool it (p 215).”

“‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him (p 219)?’”

“‘While it should not matter, I would like to mention that I’m a white girl. I read in the paper of your misfortune and of your suffering. And I read that if you had sneezed, you would have died. And I’m simply writing you to say that I’m so happy that you didn’t sneeze (p 221).’”

“He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land (p 223).”

[Jiwoonglee · Rating 5 out of 5]

When many people have read this book, the world would be a much better place for everyone

[Michael Gartland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Introductions were excellent in setting the context for each of the Rev. Dr. King's speeches. Words are poignant even today. A must-read for everyone!

[spoko · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're not familiar with King's actual writings and (especially) speeches, you will not regret anything you do to rectify that. 50 years later, we tend to hold a pretty abstract notion of the man, as a kind of saint or—as Cornell West is fond of saying—a Santa-Claus figure. We are aware that he gave at least one important speech, possibly even more than one. But as you listen to these speeches, what you will become aware of is King's piercing intellect, and his devotion to the cause of uplifting the American nation and its people. You will see a man fully committed to nonviolence, aware of both its power and its difficulty. I was enraptured over and over again as I listened.

To be sure, this is not a biography. You will see few if any of King's faults and foibles as a human being here. The introductions, while well written and compelling, stick fairly closely to a vision of MLK as a moral and political leader. Which he certainly was. Feel free to look elsewhere if you are looking for a narrative of his life. But you could do worse than to start here if you are looking for an understanding of his spirit and his legacy.

[K.A. Krisko · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to know what to say about such an iconic collection. I read the last half of this book interspersed with watching Ken Burn's 'Vietnam', and it was an appropriate juxtaposition. But even more, it seems, many of these speeches and ideas apply to the current times. With a quotable passage on just about every page, this collection should be required reading in any American history class, because it spans the generations and issues from environmental justice through the Vietnam War. The introductions to each speech are almost as iconic, written by John Lewis, Mahalia Jackson, and many others.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot say enough good things about this book. I listened to the audio version which is a game changer! if you read it, listen to the audio. I cannot imagine that the print version comes close to doing it justice.

Martin Luther King Jr had serious skills and passion. I was very moved by his words, and several times found myself with goosebumps or tears in my eyes or both. His messages still have so much relevance today. A beautiful man who took an admirable stance of nonviolence to change the world.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great orator. Amazing being. Very glad that this compilation exists. The essays and the prefaces are excellent in understanding King in context to his time and in context to our time. Just an amazing collection! Cannot say how stirring and compelling his words are!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best present I ever got, I listen to it almost everyday. All the speeches are still very relevant today.

[Luke Hillier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aside from "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," this is the first work from King that I've read all the way through. For reasons still beyond me (perhaps because his words already feel so etched into our national consciousness, regardless of how they go ignored), I had never thought of seeking out books written by King. In fact, even this one is only in my possession because it was a required text for a rhetoric class I signed up for and soon after dropped in college. After all but forgetting about it, I found it while looking for another book back at my mom's house over Christmas and decided it'd be the perfect start to my annual February tradition of reading books written by black authors. I was correct.

It is such a disservice to digest King only in soundbites and quotes, rather than reading his material all the way through. In fact, one of the most meaningful parts of reading this collection was that it offered an evaluation not just of his progression of thought through one piece, but the development of his thoughts and theology over time from one piece to another. You can really follow the increasing radicalism and boldness that King accelerates towards in the later speeches, particularly as he moves from focusing solely on race relations in America to critique our unjust participation in the Vietnam War and the capitalist systems set up to crush those struggling with poverty in America. There is no question that, as he became more prophetic, he became more threatening to the powers that be, ultimately leading to the tragic nature of his end.

The other thing that most struck me when reading through these speeches was the centrality of non-violence and the call to cultivate compassion and love for one's enemies. I think, rightfully so, I have been bombarded with warnings not to accept a domesticated, watered-down King that's been stripped of the heat and fire that ultimately got him killed. But, with a perception of him based largely on those notions rather than his own words, I actually found myself surprised at how frequently he does talk about those notions, and how deeply he believed in them. In so many ways, I'm left challenged and convicted by how seriously he took Jesus and the implications that that has on our engagement with those we're so inclined to "other" as our opponents and enemies. However, it's also clear when reading his words all the way through that King's not speaking of a fluffy, spineless kind of love and compassion, but one that maintains the innocence of the dove while embodying the serpent's wisdom. He articulates in a number of places the ways that nonviolent resistance and enemy love are not only the most compelling strategic choices, but also the ones that allow for the sustenance of one's integrity and moral fiber.

The only drawback to this collection of speeches for me was, well, the nature of it being a collection of speeches rather than a book in its own right. There's an inevitable level of redundancy as King repeats some of the recurring motifs, at time word for word, and I personally found the inclusion of audience responses (e.g. "Yeah", "That's right," "Well," etc.) to be distracting and clunky. The words themselves, though, especially when taken for their own right, are so consistently inspiring, galvanizing, moving, and devastatingly wise that I frequently found myself needing to re-read paragraphs three or four times just to allow the words to sink in. He was such an unbelievably incredible man and figure in history, and I'm incredibly thankful to have this newfound intimacy with his words and ideas thanks to this compilation.

[Kerry Gibbons · Rating 5 out of 5]

An overwhelmingly moving speech. I do recommend the audiobook as it’s a live recording of the actual speech - they give you a whole caveat at the beginning that it’s not the full speech and give you the heads up that you’ll know the missing bit when you hear it (it’s quite near the end but I’m doubtful it’s a long bit that’s missing. Sounds like an issue with the audio equipment they used to record it).

My favorite moments:

“Even semantics have conspired to make that which is black seem ugly and degrading. (Yes) In Roget's Thesaurus there are some 120 synonyms for blackness and at least sixty of them are offensive, such words as blot, soot, grim, devil, and foul. And there are some 134 synonyms for whiteness and all are favorable, expressed in such words as purity, cleanliness, chastity, and innocence. A white lie is better than a black lie. (Yes) The most degenerate member of a family is the ‘black sheep.’ (Yes) Ossie Davis has suggested that maybe the English language should be reconstructed so that teachers will not be forced to teach the Negro child sixty ways to despise himself, and thereby perpetuate his false sense of inferiority, and the white child 134 ways to adore himself, and thereby perpetuate his false sense of superiority. [applause] The tendency to ignore the Negro's contribution to American life and strip him of his personhood is as old as the earliest history books and as contemporary as the morning's newspaper. (Yes)”

“What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and that love without power is sentimental and anemic. (Yes) Power at its best [applause], power at its best is love (Yes) implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love. (Speak) And this is what we must see as we move on.”

“A nation that will keep people in slavery for 244 years will ‘thingify’ them and make them things. (Speak) And therefore, they will exploit them and poor people generally economically. (Yes) And a nation that will exploit economically will have to have foreign investments and everything else, and it will have to use its military might to protect them. All of these problems are tied together. (Yes) [applause] What I'm saying today is that we must go from this convention and say, ‘America, you must be born again!’”

“Let us be dissatisfied until that day when nobody will shout, ‘White Power!’ when nobody will shout, ‘Black Power!’ but everybody will talk about God's power and human power.”

“This is our hope for the future, and with this faith we will be able to sing in some not too distant tomorrow, with a cosmic past tense, ‘We have overcome! (Yes) We have overcome! Deep in my heart, I did believe (Yes) we would overcome.’”

Quotes taken from the transcript of the speech, available here:
http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/...

[Cory Donavon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing speeches by an amazing man. I always enjoyed Dr. King's powerful orations; the symbolic language, the messages behind them, and the delivery all combine to form truly incredible speeches. I love the way Dr. King starts out slowly and calmly, then erupts with energy toward the conclusion, nearly every time. Dr. King's words were full of love and compassion, but also determination and passion.
I wanted to get to read A Call to Conscience so I could take more time with the messages Dr. King was trying to deliver. I wanted to absorb every word and A Call to Conscience allowed me to do that.
While reading the book, I could hear Martin's voice echoing in my ear, especially for the I've Been to the Mountaintop speech, which is my most favorite address of Dr. King's and which I have listened to a bunch of times. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Dr. King's message and anyone wanting to take more time to study his powerful speeches.
I really appreciate the introductions to each speech as well. They were relevant and interesting, often providing backstory for the speech or another perspective. My favorite introductions were by Aretha Franklin, the Dalai Lama, Andrew Young and Rosa Parks. It was great because the people giving the introductions were actually present for Dr. King's speeches; for example, Aretha was in attendance for the Address at the Freedom Rally in Cobo Hall while she was a young singer. The Dalai Lama was present for Dr. King's acceptance speech for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. And Andrew Young provided background for the I've Been to the Mountaintop speech, like that Dr. King didn't even want to speak that day because he had fallen ill (a rare occurrence for Dr. King), but there were so many people present that he decided to come anyway. Then his best friend, Ralph Abernathy, gave a rousing speech that inspired him to speak, so the whole speech was improvised without notes and it turned out to be his last public address ever given, for he was assassinated the next day. I've Been to the Mountaintop is objectively my favorite speech by Dr. King, but knowing the backstory makes it even more powerful. I also find it beautiful that Coretta King was the one to reach out and collect the introductions, as indicated by the end of the book.
Additionally, during these tumultuous times (COVID 19 quarantine and the race riots / race rebellions), Dr. King's words were especially powerful and relevant. His words are ever-relevant, but there are so many parallels with what he was speaking about back then and what the black community is still facing today. We must do better and we must make real change. It's time to follow through and build momentum to enact real and lasting change.
Most of Dr. King's Landmark speeches are available on Spotify. For further listening and some great sermons by Dr. King, I recommend A Knock at Midnight.