Dr. King's Message to Black Youths
On Black Heritage
The Negro must always guard against the danger of becoming ashamed of his past. There is much in the heritage of the Negro that each of us can be proud of. The oppression that we have faced, partly because of the color of our skin, must not cause us to feel that everything non-White is objectionable.
The content of one's character is the important thing, not the color of the skin. We must teach every Negro child that rejection of heritage means loss of cultural roots, and [that] people who have no past have no future.
Ebony, January 1958
On Economic Emancipation
Well has it been said....that Negroes too often buy what they want and beg for what they need. Negroes must learn to practice systematic saving. They must also pool their economic resources through various cooperative enterprises. Such agencies as credit unions, savings and loan associations, and finance companies are needed in every Negro community.
All of these things that would serve to lift the economic level of the Negro which would in turn give him greater purchasing power. This increased purchasing power will inevitably make for better housing, better health standards, and for better educational standards.
Ebony, March 1958
On Education
The function of education...is to teach one to think intensively and to teach one to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals....We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character - this is the goal of true education.
What Manner of Man
On The Pursuit of Excellence
One should seek to do his life's work as if God Almighty called him at this particular moment in history to do it. And he must do it with a sense of cosmic responsibility, no matter how small it might be. He must do a little job in a big way. He must do an ordinary job in an extraordinary way. "If you can't be a pine on the top of a hill, be a scrub in the valley, but be the best little scrub on the side of the hill. Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If you can't be a highway, just be a trail. If you can't be the sun, be a star. For it isn't by the size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are."
Speech, Chicago Sunday Evening Club, March 1965
If it falls your lot to sweep streets, sweep them like Michelangelo painted pictures, like Shakespeare wrote poetry, like Beethoven composed music.
Dallas Morning News
We must skillfully and intellectually prepare ourselves to live in an integrated society. Whatever you choose as your life work, do it well. Don't be content with sheer mediocrity. Do your job so well that nobody could do it better. Do it so well that all the hosts of Heaven and Earth will have to say, "Here lived a man who did his job as if God Almighty called him at this particular moment in history to do it.
Ebony, July 1956
On Love
I am convinced that love is the most durable power in the world. It is not an expression of impractical idealism, but of practical realism. Far from being the pious injunction of a Utopian dreamer, love is an absolute necessity for the survival of our civilization. To return hate for hate does nothing but intensify the existence of evil in the universe. Someone must have sense enough and religion enough to cut off the chain of hate and evil, and this can only be done through love. Moreover, love is creative and redemptive.
Love builds up and unites; hate tears down and destroys. The aftermath of the love method is reconciliation and creation of the beloved community....Yes love - which means understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill, even for one's enemies - is the solution to the race problem.
Ebony, November 1957
On Self-Confidence
I would suggest four things to you as a guide to confident living: First, know thyself. This means that you should analyze yourself and discover your potentialities as well as your limitations. Secondly, accept yourself. Never try to be anybody else. Realize that you have something unique to offer society, however humble it is. Third, trust thyself. In spite of the inevitable limitations you may have, never develop an inferiority complex. Always develop an internal sense of security that no external situation can remove. Fourth, deny thyself. You probably lose confidence in yourself because you are thinking too much about yourself....Nine times out of 10 people are not thinking about you at all.....
Ebony, September 1958
On Standards
If there are lagging standards among the Negro people, it is not because they are inherently backward. The causes are economic and environmental, not racial. At the same time, our standards do lag in many instances. At the risk of being misquoted by the enemy, I say that we must improve our personal standards even within the limitations of the ....system of segregation. Our crime rate is too high. We must not allow ourselves to become cynical and disillusioned.
Atlanta Inquirer, October 21, 1961
It is wrong to be unjust, to be dishonest, to hate. It is wrong now and it was wrong 2,000 years ago...We have moved from the Darwinian theory of survival of the fittest to a theory of survival of the slickest. Everybody is busy obeying the 11th commandment - "Do not get caught."
Norfolk Journal and Guide, March 9, 1957
The Future
We've come a long way, but we've still got a long, long way to go. If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving.
Ebony, July 1956