Choosing love over hate is no easy task. Hate takes so much out of you and that energy can be better capitalized elsewhere in your life, in addition to being a detriment to our shared society. So while raising kids to feel whole in their identity is challenging, these MLK quotes for kids about life, equality and love inspire greatness through Martin Luther King Jr’s leadership.
Best MLK Quotes
I lean heavily on my favorite Martin Luther King quotes. Not just today, as we celebrate his remarkable life, but every day as I raise my beautiful brown babies to be strong, gentle and compassionate human beings. There are truly so many lessons about Martin Luther King for kids. Here are some of our favorite best MLK quotes for kids that inspire love, leadership… and equality quotes too. These are also great ways to introduce Martin Luther King for preschoolers.
Martin Luther King for Kids
Best MLK Quotes For Kids
“Only in the darkness can you see the stars.”
“The time is always right to do what is right.”
“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than a sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
“One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”
“If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”
“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.”
“Not everybody can be famous but everybody can be great because greatness is determined by service.”
“Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.”
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Related: 40+ Motivational Quotes About School
Quotes for Kids About Life
Dr King Quotes on Leadership
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
“Intelligence plus character. That is the goal of true education.”
Related: 100 Would You Rather Questions for Kids
“The quality – not the longevity – of one’s life is what is important.”
“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. ”
“We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.”
“There is nothing more tragic than to find an individual bogged down in the length of life, devoid of breadth.”
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”
“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”
Related: 60+ Friends Quotes about Sisterhood
Quote About Equality
Kids Quotes on Love
“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.”
“The ultimate tragedy is not oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.”
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Related: Best Maya Angelou Poems on Love
“I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
“We may have all come on different ships but we’re in the same boat now.”
“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed.”
Related: 50+ Inspirational Love Quotes
Related: Curly Hair Quotes for Little Girls
Ruby DW (@RubyDW)
January 23, 2013 at 12:47 amI love these quotes! I think they are words all children should hear. Thanks for sharing!
Discussing MLK with Young Multiracial & Biracial Children - De Su Mama
January 20, 2014 at 11:06 am[…] life and what he did. Not necessarily the horrid injustices he was fighting against. We use these MLK Quotes to set the foundation of inspiration; to look within themselves for self worth. We see color and […]