FTC disclaimer. This post may contains affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you purchase through one of my links.
Here are our famous civil rights quotes that have inspired generations in the fight for equality and justice.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said,
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
– Martin Luther King Jr.
Love and understanding can change lives and help us achieve equality.
The fight for human dignity is not just about breaking down unfair systems. It is also about creating a world where empathy and compassion are valued.
Today, we need to think about how we interact with each other. We should focus on replacing anger with conversation and coming together instead of dividing ourselves.
Similarly, Rosa Parks highlights the ripple effect of individual courage in the fight for collective liberation.
I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free so other people would be also free.
– Rosa Parks
Civil rights quotes like these are not just echoes of past struggles but blueprints for future action.
They inspire us to recognize our interconnectedness and the moral imperative to stand up against injustice wherever it occurs.
These words have the power to inspire each generation to tackle the unfairness of their time with renewed energy and clarity.
Inspirational Civil Rights Quotes And Sayings
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
– Martin Luther King Jr.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
– Martin Luther King Jr.
Every man has a right to life. That means that he also has a right to make a comfortable living.
– Franklin D. Roosevelt
The time is always right to do what is right.
– Martin Luther King Jr.
Civil liberties victories never stay won, but must be fought for over and over again.
– Ira Glasser
There has been only a civil rights movement, whose tone of voice was adapted to an audience of liberal whites.
– Stokely Carmichael
Also Read: 76 Top Courage Quotes Sayings To Find Strength Within
The civil rights and antiwar movements taught Americans to question authority.
– Adam Cohen
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
– Martin Luther King Jr.
I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.
– Angela Davis
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.
– Theodore Parker
Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.
– Martin Luther King Jr.
With every civil right there has to be a corresponding civil obligation.
– Edison Haines
Great Civil Rights Quotes And Sayings
Civil rights are more important today than they ever have been in our country. There is so much divisiveness today.
– David Harris
In reality, civil rights are more important than national rights. They’re the content, the day-to-day: work, life. But people are sensitive to national rights.
– Ayman Odeh
I had reasoned this out in my mind; there was one of two things I had a right to – liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.
– Harriet Tubman
If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.
– Desmond Tutu
The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.
– Ida B. Wells
Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.
– John Lewis
Also Read: 120 Powerful Mental Clarity Quotes To Avoid Suffering
We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
– Martin Luther King Jr.
You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.
– Rosa Parks
The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.
– Alice Walker
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
– Jimi Hendrix
It is not differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.
– Audre Lorde
We came equals into this world, and equals shall we go out of it.
– George Mason
Best Civil Rights Quotes And Sayings
The right to life is the first among human rights.
– Pope Francis
One cannot have a right to life without the right to defend it with deadly force.
– Bruce Montague
Give light and people will find the way.
– Ella Baker
I raise up my voice—not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.
– Malala Yousafzai
Civil rights are not piecemeal or separable.
– Bayard Rustin
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
– Martin Luther King Jr.
Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.
– Martin Luther King Jr.
Below are the best quotes from the Civil Rights Movement, reflecting the courage, vision, and determination of those who fought for justice and equality in the United States.
Famous Civil Rights Movement Quotes
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men (women) are created equal.’
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.
– Malcolm X
Each person must live their life as a model for others.
– Rosa Parks
We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression.
– W.E.B. Du Bois
I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free… so other people would be also free.
– Rosa Parks
Also Read: 60 Inspiring Caterpillar Quotes For Self Transformation
My feets is tired, but my soul is rested.
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice.
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
If not us, then who? If not now, then when?
– John Lewis
We declare our right on this earth to be a man, to be a woman, to be a human being, to be respected as a human being.
– Malcolm X
A man who won’t die for something is not fit to live.
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.
– Fannie Lou Hamer
Also Read: 60 Inspiring Crossroads Quotes To Keep Mental Sanity Intact
You don’t have to be a man to fight for freedom. All you have to do is to be an intelligent human being.
– Malcolm X
History has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.
– Michelle Obama
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Truth is powerful and it prevails.
– Sojourner Truth
Get in good trouble, necessary trouble.
– John Lewis
I am somebody.
– Jesse Jackson
We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.
– Ella Baker
Until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Civil Rights Act of 1964 Quotes
Here are some of the most potent and memorable quotes about the Civil Rights Act of 1964, spoken by key figures during its passage and aftermath.
These quotes reflect the historic significance of the Act and the struggle that led to it.
It is impossible to struggle for civil rights, equal rights for blacks, without including whites. Because equal rights, fair play, justice, are all like the air: we all have it, or none of us has it. That is the truth of it.
– Maya Angelou
We believe that all men are created equal. Yet many are denied equal treatment. We believe that all men have certain unalienable rights. Yet many Americans do not enjoy those rights.
– President Lyndon B. Johnson
There’s no problem on the planet that can’t be solved without violence. That’s the lesson of the civil rights movement.
– Andrew Young
This is a turning point in history, and we must all realize that it is not enough to pass laws—we must also enforce them.
– Lyndon B. Johnson
Let the nation and the world know the meaning of our numbers. We are not a mob. We are the people.
– Bayard Rustin
The Cause of civil liberty must not be surrendered at the end of one, or even one hundred defeats.
– Abraham Lincoln
Also Read: 100 Famous Meaningful Quotes Sayings That Are Life Changing
We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
This Civil Rights Act is a challenge to all of us to go to work in our communities and our states, in our homes and our hearts, to eliminate the last vestiges of injustice in our beloved country.
– Lyndon B. Johnson
From the equality of rights springs identity of our highest interests; you cannot subvert your neighbor’s rights without striking a dangerous blow at your own.
– Carl Schurz
Our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions any more than our opinions in physics or geometry.
– Thomas Jefferson
Until civil rights are enjoyed by all of us, we’re simply not civilized.
– Rupert Friend
The civil rights movement was devoid of grace; it was using some unfortunate people as means to a communistic end.
– Samuel Bowers
This is the law of the land. It must be obeyed.
– Robert F. Kennedy
Civil Rights Era Quotes And Sayings
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the most sweeping civil rights legislation to be passed by Congress since Reconstruction.
– Hubert H. Humphrey
The law may not change the heart, but it can restrain the heartless.
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Civil Rights opened the windows. When you open the windows, it does not mean that everybody will get through. We must create our own opportunities.
– Mary Frances Berry
It is impossible to struggle for civil rights, equal rights for blacks, without including whites. Because equal rights, fair play, justice, are all like the air: we all have it, or none of us has it. That is the truth of it.
– Maya Angelou
Civil rights was not an impossible dream. Thousands of brave African Americans stepped forward to make it happen.
– Martin O’Malley
When you’re fighting for civil rights, it’s sometimes two steps forward and one step back. Civil rights are an evolution; and you have to bring people along.
– Gloria Allred
Also Read: 80 Meaningful Light and Darkness Quotes and Sayings
Civil rights used to be about treating everyone the same. But today some people are so used to special treatment that equal treatment is considered to be discrimination.
– Thomas Sowell
You could not be in the civil rights movement without having an appreciation for everybody’s rights. That these rights are not divisible – not something men have and women don’t and so on.
– Julian Bond
The civil rights of none, shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any manner, or on any pretext infringed.
– James Madison
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 gave black people their dignity. It said you could not treat people unfairly based on race.
– John Lewis
It’s not just a piece of legislation—it’s a promise kept and a dream advanced.
– Barack Obama
Meaningful Quotes By Civil Rights Leaders
At the foundation of our civil liberties lies the principle that denies to government officials an exceptional position before the law and which subjects them to the same rules of conduct that are commands to the citizen.
– Justice Louis D. Brandeis
In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as ‘right-to-work.’ It provides no ‘rights’ and no ‘works.’ Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining¦. We demand this fraud be stopped.
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
The civil rights situation is like a pregnancy. It will get worse, I believe, before it gets better. What the usual pregnancy comes to is a decent baby. That is what we all hope will be the end product of this stress. It is customary, at the end of a pregnancy, to have for your pains a decent baby.
– Gwendolyn Brooks
We must remember that a right lost to one is lost to all.
– William Reece Smith, Jr
One’s right to life, liberty, and property depends on the outcome of no election.
– Robert H. Jackson
If you believe in the right to life, then you must believe in the right to have the means to defend that life.
– Charley Reese
Also Read: 55 Famous Liberty Quotes Sayings For Individual Freedom
The right to life does not depend, and must not be contingent, on the pleasure of anyone else, not even a parent or sovereign.
– Mother Teresa
As for civil liberties, any one who is not vigilant may one day find himself living, if not in a police state, at least in a police city.
– Gore Vidal
The civil rights movement didn’t begin in Montgomery and it didn’t end in the 1960s. It continues on to this very minute.
– Julian Bond
Civil rights are civil rights. There are no persons who are not entitled to their civil rights. We have to recognize that we have a long way to go, but we have to go that way together.
– Dorothy Height
While on the level of civil rights many things have changed decisively for the better, on the level of attitudes and mentality there’s still a long way to go. On the other hand it’s obvious that it’s much easier to change a law than to change a way of thinking.
– Dacia Maraini
The civil rights movement was based on faith. Many of us who were participants in this movement saw our involvement as an extension of our faith. We saw ourselves doing the work of the Almighty. Segregation and racial discrimination were not in keeping with our faith, so we had to do something.
– John Lewis
We hope you liked reading our iconic civil rights quotes collection.
Share it with your loved ones and in social circles.
Sharing is Caring!
