MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

In his own words

“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman.” — 1966 speech detailing his feelings about the health-care system in America.

“I say very honestly that I never intend to become adjusted to segregation and discrimination. … I never intend to adjust to economic conditions that will take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few.” — address at the University of Michigan, Dec. 18, 1963.

“A riot is the language of the unheard.” — Birmingham, Ala., Dec. 31, 1963.

“I think it was correct. Contrary to what many have said, it sought to outlaw neither prayer nor belief in God. In a pluralistic society such as ours, who is to determine what prayer shall be spoken and by whom?” — King sharing his thoughts in a 1965 Playboy magazine interview on a U.S. Supreme Court decision to ban school prayer.

“Ultimately, a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus.” — speech at the Episcopal National Cathedral, Washington, D.C., March 31, 1968.