---
title: "2 Abolition Quotes By Martin Luther King, Jr"
description: "2 Abolition quotes by Martin Luther King, Jr. Plus more from Martin Luther King, Jr and more Abolition sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/martin-luther-king-jr-127_abolition_the-curse-of-poverty-has-no-justificatio_2788260.jpg"
---

> [The curse of poverty has no justification in our age. It is socially as cruel and blind as the practice of cannibalism at the dawn of civilization, when men ate each other because they had not yet learned to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-curse-of-poverty-has-no-justification-in-our-age-it-is-socially/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/martin-luther-king-jr-127_abolition_the-curse-of-poverty-has-no-justificatio_2788260.jpg)

> [The Curse of poverty has no justification in our age...The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct and immediate abolition of poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-curse-of-poverty-has-no-justification-in-our-age-the-time-has/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/martin-luther-king-jr-127_abolition_the-curse-of-poverty-has-no-justificatio_3038789.png)

## Other authors on Abolition

- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b010/author-frederick-douglass-36177.jpg) Frederick Douglass 9 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition/frederick-douglass/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b009/author-frank-j-prial-35743.jpg) GaryLFrancione 8 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition/garylfrancione/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b014/author-karl-marx-55237.jpg) Karl Marx 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition/karl-marx/)

## More by Martin Luther King, Jr

> [The strong man holds in a living blend strongly marked opposites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-strong-man-holds-in-a-living-blend-strongly-marked-opposites/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. ... We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/our-nation-was-born-in-genocide-when-it-embraced-the-doctrine-that/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [Every genuine expression of love grows out of a consistent and total surrender to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/every-genuine-expression-of-love-grows-out-of-a-consistent-and-total/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-must-remember-that-intelligence-is-not-enough-intelligence-plus/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [I’ve been to the Mountaintop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-ve-been-to-the-mountaintop/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [The supreme task is to organize and unite people so that their anger becomes a transforming force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-supreme-task-is-to-organize-and-unite-people-so-that-their-anger/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [The great issue of life is to harness the drum major instinct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-great-issue-of-life-is-to-harness-the-drum-major-instinct/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [Somebody must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate and the chain of evil in the universe. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somebody-must-have-sense-enough-and-morality-enough-to-cut-off-the/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [Darkness is only driven out with light, not more darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/darkness-is-only-driven-out-with-light-not-more-darkness/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [What seems so necessary today may not even be desirable tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/what-seems-so-necessary-today-may-not-even-be-desirable-tomorrow/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [The Negro cannot win the respect of his oppressor by acquiescing; he merely increases the oppressor's arrogance and contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-negro-cannot-win-the-respect-of-his-oppressor-by-acquiescing-he/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [The majority of the Negroes who took part in the year-long boycott of Montgomery's buses were poor and untutored; but they understood the essence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-majority-of-the-negroes-who-took-part-in-the-year-long-boycott-of/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [Whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity and it has worth,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/whenever-you-are-engaged-in-work-that-serves-humanity-and-is-for-the/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-have-a-dream-that-one-day-even-the-state-of-mississippi-a-desert/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition/martin-luther-king-jr/#itemlist",
            "name": "2 Abolition Quotes By Martin Luther King, Jr",
            "numberOfItems": 2,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The curse of poverty has no justification in our age. It is socially as cruel and blind as the practice of cannibalism at the dawn of civilization, when men ate each other because they had not yet learned to take food from the soil or to consume the abundant animal life around them. The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct and immediate abolition of poverty.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Martin Luther King, Jr"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-curse-of-poverty-has-no-justification-in-our-age-it-is-socially/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/martin-luther-king-jr-127_abolition_the-curse-of-poverty-has-no-justificatio_2788260.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/martin-luther-king-jr-127_abolition_the-curse-of-poverty-has-no-justificatio_2788260.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/martin-luther-king-jr-127_abolition_the-curse-of-poverty-has-no-justificatio_2788260.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The curse of poverty has no justification in our age. It is socially as cruel and blind as the practice of…” — Martin Luther King, Jr",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The Curse of poverty has no justification in our age...The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct and immediate abolition of poverty.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Martin Luther King, Jr"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-curse-of-poverty-has-no-justification-in-our-age-the-time-has/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/martin-luther-king-jr-127_abolition_the-curse-of-poverty-has-no-justificatio_3038789.png",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/martin-luther-king-jr-127_abolition_the-curse-of-poverty-has-no-justificatio_3038789.png",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/martin-luther-king-jr-127_abolition_the-curse-of-poverty-has-no-justificatio_3038789.png",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The Curse of poverty has no justification in our age...The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the…” — Martin Luther King, Jr",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition/martin-luther-king-jr/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition/martin-luther-king-jr/",
            "name": "Abolition Quotes by Martin Luther King, Jr",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition/martin-luther-king-jr/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/martin-luther-king-jr-127_abolition_the-curse-of-poverty-has-no-justificatio_2788260.jpg"
            },
            "description": "2 Abolition quotes by Martin Luther King, Jr. Plus more from Martin Luther King, Jr and more Abolition sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition/martin-luther-king-jr/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition/martin-luther-king-jr/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Abolition",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Martin Luther King, Jr",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolition/martin-luther-king-jr/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```