What we check
For every quote we look for the text where King used those words and record the exact wording, the title, the date and place, and a link to a copy you can read when one is publicly available. Our checking script compares each quote against the full texts we hold, ignoring only punctuation and audience responses like “(Yes, sir)”. Anything that doesn’t match isn’t published.
Where we look
- The King Papers Project at Stanford’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute, which publishes speeches, sermons and letters with editorial notes
- NobelPrize.org for the 1964 Nobel speeches
- College and union archives that hold transcripts of talks King gave there, such as Oberlin College and AFSCME
- King’s books, including Stride Toward Freedom (1958) and Strength to Love (1963)
- Fact-checkers and quotation researchers, only to find leads. We go to the text they point to.
What the labels mean
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Verified | The exact words are in the source we cite. |
| Variant | King said it, but the popular version is worded differently. We show his words. |
| Pending check | Only in preview builds. The source is a book we’re checking page by page; it isn’t shown on the live site until that’s done. |
“We couldn’t find it” isn’t the same as “he never said it,” so we say which one applies.
Images
Our quote images use the checked wording and name the source and year under each quote. You’re welcome to share them. A link back to the quote’s page helps others find the source.
Copyright
Dr. King’s words are protected by copyright, held by his estate. In 1999 a federal appeals court confirmed this for “I Have a Dream” (Justia). We use short quotations for commentary, education and verification, and link to full texts held by archives instead of reproducing whole speeches.