If a man is called a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and Earth will pause to say, Here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well. – Martin Luther King,Jr.

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death. – Martin Luther King,Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967

Without denying the value of scientific endeavor, there is a striking absurdity in committing billions to reach the moon where no people live, while only a fraction of that amount is appropriated to service the densely populated slums. – Martin Luther King,Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967

The curse of poverty has no justification in our age. – Martin Luther King,Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967