King's words changed a nation

Editorial by Fayetteville Observer, January 19, 2014.

Many have expressed eloquent comments about the life, death and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. But his own voice echoes most strongly to us through the long years, stirring our nation's conscience and calling us to brotherhood and unrelenting pursuit of freedom and justice:

"In your struggle for justice, let your oppressor know that you are not attempting to defeat or humiliate him, or even to pay him back for injustices that he has heaped upon you. Let him know that you are merely seeking justice for him as well as yourself."

- "Paul's Letter to Americans" sermon, 1956, Montgomery, Ala.

"There is something in the soul that cries out for freedom. There is something deep down within the very soul of man that reaches out for Canaan. ... The vast majority, the masses of people never profit by Egypt, and they are never content with it. And eventually they rise up and begin to cry out for Canaan's land."

- "Birth of a New Nation" sermon, 1957, Montgomery, Ala.

"I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. ...

"If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands."

- "Letter From Birmingham Jail," 1963, Birmingham, Ala.

"We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. ...

"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 lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children. ...

"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. ...

"With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day."

- "I Have a Dream" speech, 1963, Washington, D.C.

"God still has a way of wringing good out of evil. And history has proven over and over again that unmerited suffering is redemptive."

- "Eulogy for the Martyred Children," 1963, Birmingham, Ala.

"If America's soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read 'Vietnam.'"

- "Beyond Vietnam" speech, 1967, New York

"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. So 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."

- "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech, 1968, Memphis, Tenn.