Ordinarily, a person leaving a courtroom with a conviction behind him would wear a somber face. But I left with a smile. I knew that I was a convicted criminal, but I was proud of my crime.

About Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister who was a prominent leader of the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. He advanced civil rights in the United States through...

More quotations from Martin Luther King Jr.

Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.

—Martin Luther King Jr.

Insanity is just what we call stupidity when it doesn't make sense.

—Martin Luther King Jr.

stupidity

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

—Martin Luther King Jr.

silence

I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.

—Martin Luther King Jr.

laws

The greatest justice in life is that your vision and looks tend to go simultaneously.

—Martin Luther King Jr.

justice

History

24 Oct 2015 Added
26 Oct 2026 Wording changed

Previous wording

Ordinarily, a person leaving a courtroom with a conviction behind him would wear a somber face. But I left with a smile. I knew that I was a convicted criminal, but I was proud of my crime.