These Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes Are Needed Now More Than Ever Before

The third Monday of each January marks Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and while this holiday is always a great opportunity to honor his life and legacy, it is especially important that we look to Dr. King for inspiration today.

It feels like our nation is more divided than ever, especially on issues regarding racial injustice. In recent years, there have been more cases of fatal police shootings involving unarmed people of color.

In addition, race became a focal issue during the 2016 election. President-elect Donald Trump was heavily criticized during his campaign for spreading racial and xenophobia rhetoric. As a result, it often appeared that some Republican voters were more racially resentful to African Americans and other people of color.

We’ve seen an example of this racial disparity during the weekend before Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2017. After civil rights activist and Georgia congressman John Lewis announced that he would not attend Trump’s inauguration, the President-elect lashed out on the 76-year-old by tweeting that the Democrat should “finally focus on the burning, crime infested inner-cities of the U.S.”

Lewis, seeming unfazed, tweeted back about the important of Martin Luther King’s legacy.

We honor Dr. King’s legacy through service to our community and adherence to the philosophy & discipline of nonviolence #MLKDay #goodtrouble pic.twitter.com/URVlDGT2Yq

— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) January 16, 2017

That is why we need Martin Luther King’s message now more than ever.

“We commemorate as well the timeless values he taught us through his example — the values of courage, truth, justice, compassion, dignity, humility and service that so radiantly defined Dr. King’s character and empowered his leadership,” it reads on the King Center website. “On this holiday, we commemorate the universal, unconditional love, forgiveness and nonviolence that empowered his revolutionary spirit.”

To embrace Dr. King’s inspiring words, Esquire recently released a powerful video featuring seven of his most important MLK quotes to live by.

Watch the video:

What are some of your favorite Dr. King quotes?