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18 September 2008

martin luther king quote Can you help me source the quote "our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter"? It is widely attributed to Martin Luther King Jr, but I can not find a reference anywhere to where or when he actually said it. →[More:]I have already checked: bartleby.com, print version of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations and several print collections of African American quotation. Thanks!

post by: slackshot at: 18:20 | 6 comments

It's amazing, I can find that quote everywhere attributed to King WITHOUT a not from wich speech it came from.

posted by MonkeyButter 18 September | 20:49

This has Desmond Tutu quoting King.

I've been scanning my book of speeches and have yet to find it.

posted by lysdexic 18 September | 22:21

I know-it's so crazy, everyone and their mother quotes it, but NO ONE seems to know where its from. I have looked through 3 books of MLK quotes/speeches as well. There are even a ton of scholarly papers I found that quote it, but not a single one sources it. Bad academics!
I am really starting to wonder if he ever actually said it-which would be kinda hilarious considering how many people are claiming he did. I finally gave up and put in the question in to the LOC librarians-i am hoping they are more librarian than I or have access to some sources that I don't. Thanks so much for trying guys!

posted by slackshot 19 September | 00:10

I can't find a Google Books citation earlier than 1994, nor in Google News Archive before 1998. It seems to have gathered steam after Pres. Clinton used it in his 2000 speech to the NAACP.

It isn't even on Usenet before this year.

posted by stilicho 19 September | 00:50

that is very interesting...I am even more convinced that MLK had nothing to do with this quote. thanks.

posted by slackshot 19 September | 01:05

It's a nice line, so I wonder who did originate it. But there isn't even a trail leading to that, it just appears out of nowhere. Maybe if I had Nexis.

posted by stilicho 19 September | 16:12

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