Transformational Speeches of Nobel Peace Laureate Martin Luther King Jr.

Author/Compiler: Tihomir Dimitrov (http://nobelists.net; also see http://scigod.com/index.php/sgj/issue/view/3)

MARTIN LUTHER KING, Jr. – NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE

Nobel Prize: Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) received the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize for his struggle against racism and for his efforts to bring about integration within the United States without violence. King was assassinated by a sniper on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march.

Nationality: American

Education: B.A. in sociology, Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA, 1948; Ph.D. in Systematic Theology, Boston University, 1955

Occupation: President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (1957-1968); Baptist minister (1947-68)

1. Martin Luther King closed his last speech “I’ve been to the Mountain Top” (April 3, 1968, Memphis, Tennessee) with the words:

“I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountain top. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a 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 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.” (Excerpt from King’s last speech, before he was assassinated on April 4, 1968; see Martin Luther King, The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr., New York, Newmarket Press, 1983, 94).

2. In his Nobel Lecture (December 11, 1964, University of Oslo) King stated:

“Deeply etched in the fiber of our religious tradition is the conviction that men are made in the image of God and that they are souls of infinite metaphysical value, the heirs of a legacy of dignity and worth. If we feel this as a profound moral fact, we cannot be content to see men hungry, to see men victimized with starvation and ill health when we have the means to help them.” (King, as cited in Peace!, Marek Thee - editor, UNESCO Publishing, 1995, 374).

3. In his address delivered at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom (17 May 1957, Washington, D.C.) King said:

“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.

Now, I’m not talking about a sentimental, shallow kind of love. I’m not talking about eros, which is a sort of aesthetic, romantic love. I’m not even talking about philia, which is a sort of intimate affection between personal friends.

But I’m talking about agape. I’m talking about the love of God in the hearts of men. I’m talking about a type of love, which will cause you to love the person who does the evil deed, while hating the deed that the person does.” (King 1957a).

4. “I have decided to love. If you are seeking the highest good, I think you can find it through love. And the beautiful thing is that we aren’t moving wrong when we do it, because John was right, God is love. He who hates does not know God, but he who loves has the key that unlocks the door to the meaning of ultimate reality.” (King 1967).

5. “Whatever we do, we must keep God in the forefront. Let us be Christians in all of our actions. 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.” (King 1955).

6. In his address delivered at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom (17 May 1957, Washington, D.C.) King stated:

“I conclude by saying that each of us must keep faith in the future. Let us not despair. Let us realize that as we struggle for justice and freedom, we have cosmic companionship. This is the long faith of the Hebraic-Christian tradition: that God is not some Aristotelian Unmoved Mover who merely contemplates upon himself. He is not merely a self-knowing God, but an other-loving God forever working through history for the establishment of His kingdom.

And those of us who call the name of Jesus Christ find something of an event in our Christian faith that tells us this. There is something in our faith that says to us, ‘Never despair; never give up; never feel that the cause of righteousness and justice is doomed’.” (King 1957a).

7. In his Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech (December 10, 1964, Oslo, Norway) Dr. King stated:

“I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive goodwill will proclaim 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 that we shall overcome.” (Martin Luther King, The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr., 1983, 91).

8. Dr. King maintained that there was no conflict between his religious faith and his social activity: “We believe firmly in the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. I can see no conflict between our devotion to Jesus Christ and our present action. In fact, I can see a necessary relationship. If one is truly devoted to the religion of Jesus he will seek to rid the earth of social evils. The gospel is social as well as personal.” (King, as cited in Stephen B. Oates, The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr., NY, Harper and Row, 1982, 81-82).

9. In his speech given at the March on Washington (August 28, 1963) King said:

“I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

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.” (Martin Luther King, The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr., 1983, 95).

October 6, 2011