MLKQUOTES.SITE

About this site

Sources

Every quote on this site is matched word for word to a text we can name. This page lists those texts, 31 sources in all, so the quote pages can stay focused on the quotes. Each quote links here, to the entry for the document it comes from. How we verify quotes.

Primary texts

Speeches, letters and sermons. Each quote we publish from these was compared with the transcript linked here.

  1. King Institute: March on Washington

    21 quotes · I Have a Dream, 1963

  2. Full text: Letter from Birmingham Jail

    14 quotes · Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963 · I Have a Dream, 1963, quoting the Declaration of Independence

  3. NobelPrize.org: acceptance speech

    8 quotes · Nobel Prize acceptance speech, 1964

  4. NobelPrize.org: Nobel lecture

    2 quotes · Nobel lecture, Oslo, 1964

  5. King Institute: I’ve Been to the Mountaintop

    4 quotes · I've Been to the Mountaintop, 1968 · I've Been to the Mountaintop, Memphis, 1968

  6. King Institute: Beyond Vietnam

    3 quotes · Beyond Vietnam, Riverside Church, 1967

  7. King Institute: The Trumpet of Conscience

    1 quote · A Christmas Sermon on Peace, 1967

  8. Oberlin College: 1965 commencement address

    4 quotes · 1965 speech, adapted from Theodore Parker · Oberlin College commencement address, 1965

  9. King Papers: The Purpose of Education

    6 quotes · The Purpose of Education, 1947

  10. King Papers: Keep Moving from This Mountain

    1 quote · Keep Moving from This Mountain, Spelman College, 1960

  11. King Institute: The Drum Major Instinct

    3 quotes · The Drum Major Instinct, 1968

  12. King Institute: Our God Is Marching On!

    2 quotes · I Have a Dream, 1963 · Speech, Montgomery, 1965

  13. King Institute: Where Do We Go From Here?

    3 quotes · 1965 speech, adapted from Theodore Parker · Where Do We Go From Here? (SCLC address), Atlanta, 1967

Books

King’s books aren’t online in full. Quotes from them were confirmed by Maddy against the book text. The links go to the King Institute’s encyclopedia entry for each book.

  1. King Institute: Strength to Love

    19 quotes

  2. King Institute: Stride Toward Freedom

    5 quotes

Facts and context

Dates, places and background on the pages of this site, each checked against the source below. The pages that rely on each source are listed under it.

  1. AFSCME — “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” transcript

    Used on: MLK quotes on hope, MLK quotes on peace and war

  2. Cornell LII — 5 U.S.C. § 6103, legal public holidays

    Used on: MLK quotes, checked against the source, MLK Day 2027 quotes

  3. Full text — “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” (Civil Rights Movement Archive)

    Used on: MLK quotes on peace and war

  4. Justia — Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. v. CBS, Inc., 194 F.3d 1211 (11th Cir. 1999)

    Used on: I Have a Dream quotes

  5. King Institute — “Drum Major Instinct”

    Used on: MLK quotes on courage and leadership

  6. King Institute — Letter from Birmingham Jail

    Used on: MLK quotes, checked against the source, MLK quotes on justice, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”, “The time is always right to do what is right”

  7. King Institute — Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike

    Used on: MLK quotes on hope

  8. King Institute — Selma to Montgomery March

    Used on: MLK quotes on justice

  9. King Papers — “Loving Your Enemies,” Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, 17 November 1957

    Used on: MLK quotes on love, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that”

  10. National Park Service — Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

    Used on: MLK quotes on hope, I Have a Dream quotes

  11. NobelPrize.org — Martin Luther King Jr., biographical

    Used on: MLK quotes, checked against the source

  12. NobelPrize.org — Martin Luther King Jr., facts

    Used on: MLK quotes, checked against the source, How we verify MLK quotes, MLK Day 2027 quotes

  13. Quote Investigator — The arc of the moral universe

    Used on: MLK quotes on justice

  14. Reagan Library — remarks on signing the King holiday bill, 2 November 1983

    Used on: MLK Day 2027 quotes

  15. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute, Stanford University

    Used on: How we verify MLK quotes

  16. US Office of Personnel Management — federal holidays

    Used on: MLK quotes, checked against the source, MLK Day 2027 quotes

How this page was made: written with AI assistance from the primary sources listed on our sources page.Every quotation and fact was checked against those sources by Maddy on 6 October 2026. How we verify · Last updated 6 October 2026