MLK Jr.: His Words Match Our Time

Excerpts from The Trumpet of Conscience and Letter from a Birmingham Jail

I was unable to sleep this morning, so I went off in search of the original text for this famous quote by MLK:

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." —Martin Luther King, Jr.

At one point, I read that it could be found in one of the Massey Lecture Series of November and December 1967, published in a book titled The Trumpet of Conscience. I didn’t find it. Other research took me to his speech where he came out against Vietnam, a speech known as “A Time to Break Silence.”

https://www.rev.com/blog/transcription-blog/4-powerful-martin-luther-king-jr-speeches

Once again, though the concept is discussed, I couldn’t find the quote.

Instead, I found something else which embodies what he was trying to say in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail”:¹

Such an attitude stems from a tragic misconception of time, from the strangely irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills. Actually, time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively. More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than have the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.

Once again, we find ourselves in a place where we must defend and enforce existing policies that protect human dignity and our rights to freedom, in particular, religious freedom. People all over this globe joined this fight, despite the challenges and exclusion they faced from going against what we now understand is contrived consensus. We follow in the steps of lions like Dr. King, who sacrificed his life seeking human dignity for all.

I mentioned yesterday that I started this tradition of posting MLK quotes a few years ago, inspired by my husband. This year I consciously took a deeper dive, searching for quotes that were less well-known. In the process, I learned how MLK was guided by his faith and very similar principles which guide me. See below for some excerpts from The Trumpet of Conscience.

“A Christmas Sermon on Peace.”²

“In Christ, somehow, there is neither bound nor free. We are all one in Christ Jesus. And when we truly believe in the sacredness of human personality, we won’t exploit people, we won’t trample over people with the iron feet of oppression, we won’t kill anybody.”

“Then the Greek language has another word for love, and that is the word “agápē.” Agápē is more than romantic love, it is more than friendship. Agápē is an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. The ologians would say that is the love of God operating in the human heart. When you rise to love on this level, you love all men, not because you like them, not because their ways appeal to you, but you love them because God loves them. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “Love your enemies.” … But Jesus reminds us that love is greater than liking. Love is understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill toward all men. And I think this is where we are, as a people, in our struggle for racial justice. We can’t ever give up. We most work passionately and unrelentingly for first-class citizenship. We must never let up in our determination to remove every vestige of segregation and discrimination from our nation, but we shall not in the process relinquish our privilege to love.”

“I have a dream that one day men will rise up and come to see that they are made to live together as brothers. I still have a dream this morning that one day every Negro in this country, every colored person in this world, will be judged on the basis of the content of his character rather than the color of his skin, and every man will respect the dignity and worth of human personality. I still have a dream today that one day the idle industries of Appalachia will be revitalized, and the empty stomachs of Mississippi will be filled, and brotherhood will be more than a few words at the end of a prayer, but rather the first order of business on every legislative agenda. I still have a dream today that one day justice will roll down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream. I still have a dream today that in all of our state houses and city halls men will be elected to go there who will do justly and love mercy and walk humbly with their God.”

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:14-21 RSVCE

“But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your cloak do not withhold your coat as well. Give to every one who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again. And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.” Luke 6:27-31 RSVCE

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Matthew 5:43-45 RSVCE

Dear God, thank you for the courage of civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. who provide an example of how to show love even to our enemy. I join Dr. King in his prayer that the people elected to lead this nation will do so in a manner embracing justice, mercy and humility. Dear God, like Dr. King, I have followed what I believe is right and what I believe you have directed me to do. That does not mean I do not have fear about the continued consequences of the action I have taken. Please continue to be with me because I cannot do this alone.

Dear God, in my reading and research, I have learned of the special relationship built between Dr. King and prominent members of the Jewish community. Dear God, please bless that relationship. If it is your time and your will, please bring peace to Jerusalem.

Dear God, I know that Dr. King believed that the value of education comes from the development of character.³ Lord, please let character development, respecting human dignity and individual responsibility, return to our schools.

Thank you God for all you do and for the gift of redemption. In your name I pray.

My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net. Turn thou to me, and be gracious to me; for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distresses. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins. Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me. Oh guard my life, and deliver me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in thee. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for thee. Psalm 25:15-21 RSVCE

I also read a great article, shared below, featuring a recent interview with a gentleman who ghost-wrote many of MLK’s speeches. Before sharing the article, I share a quote from the chapter “Impasse in Race Relations” from The Trumpet of Conscience.

“In using the term ‘white man’ I am seeking to describe in general terms the Negro’s adversary. It is not meant to encompass all white people. There are millions who have morally risen above prevailing prejudices. They are willing to share power and to accept structural alterations of society even at the cost of traditional privilege. To deny their existence as some ultranationalists do is to deny an evident truth. More than that, it drives away allies who can strengthen our struggle. Their support not only serves to enhance our power, but in breaking from the attitudes of the larger society it splits and weakens our opposition. To develop a sense of black consciousness and peoplehood does not require that we scorn the white race as a whole. It is not the race per se that we fight but the policies and ideology that leaders of that race have formulated to perpetuate oppression.”

MLK’s Former Speechwriter: ‘We Are Trying to Save the Soul of America’

1. Letter from Birmingham Jail, by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (letterfromjail.com). Dr. King repeated this sentiment in other speeches, including in a speech delivered at Ohio Northern University in 1967. See https://www.onu.edu/mlk/mlk-speech-transcript.

2. The book makes note that the text of A Christmas Sermon on Peace was delivered as a Christmas sermon in Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia and was broadcast by the CBC as the final Massey Lecture on December 24, 1967.

3. "The Purpose of Education" | The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute (stanford.edu)