--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the time is always right to do the right…" description: "\"“the time is always right to do the right thing”\" — Martin Luther King Jr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_civil-rights-movemen_the-time-is-always-right-to-do-the-right_3170251.jpg" --- # the time is always right to do the right thing ![“the time is always right to do the right thing” quote by Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_civil-rights-movemen_the-time-is-always-right-to-do-the-right_3170251.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_civil-rights-movemen_the-time-is-always-right-to-do-the-right_3170251.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_civil-rights-movemen_the-time-is-always-right-to-do-the-right_3170251.jpg) > ““the time is always right to do the right thing”” [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Doing the right thing is always appropriate, regardless of timing; moral action should not be delayed **In simple terms:** Right action is always timely Key Takeaway Act morally without waiting for perfect conditions Themes justice morality timeliness Mood determined hopeful Type ethical inspirational When to use this quote - activism - personal decisions - policy advocacy Key Concepts ethical duty civic responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What prevents you from acting rightly now? - How can you create conditions for immediate ethical action? A Different Perspective Sometimes practical constraints delay action despite moral urgency ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civil rights movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights-movement/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right/) [Right Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-right/) [Right thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-thing/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-right/) ## Related quotes > [The time is always right to do what is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-time-is-always-right-to-do-what-is-right/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [I'm all for chasing your dreams. But so it when the time is right, and do it the right way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-all-for-chasing-your-dreams-but-so-it-when-the-time-is-right-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The time is always right to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guideposts/as-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-said-the-time-is-always-right-to-do-the/) [Guideposts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guideposts/) > [The time is always right to do right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/the-time-is-always-right-to-do-right/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [Whenever the time is right, it will be the right time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suman-rai/whenever-the-time-is-right-it-will-be-the-right-time/) [Suman Rai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suman-rai/) > [And there's always a better time than right now and there always will be. 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We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/we-must-forever-conduct-our-struggle-on-the-high-plane-of-dignity-and/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/it-may-be-true-that-the-law-cannot-make-a-man-love-me-but-it-can-stop/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“Privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/privileged-groups-seldom-give-up-their-privileges-voluntarily/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [God has set the type of marriage everywhere throughout the creation. Every creature seeks its perfection in another. 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We must concentrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/it-is-not-enough-to-say-we-must-not-wage-war-it-is-necessary-to-love/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“When, for decades, you have been able to make a man compromise his manhood by threatening him with a cruel and unjust punishment, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/when-for-decades-you-have-been-able-to-make-a-man-compromise-his/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-question-is-not-whether-we-will-be-extremists-but-what-kind-of/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“Deep in our history of struggle for freedom, Canada was the North star”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/deep-in-our-history-of-struggle-for-freedom-canada-was-the-north-star/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“And he's allowed me to go to the mountain. 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Civil disobedience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-kennedy/the-world-and-america-has-been-defined-by-people-who-haven-t/) [Rory Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-kennedy/) > [Most students graduate from high school knowing nine words about the civil rights movement: Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and "I Have a Dream."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-aydin/most-students-graduate-from-high-school-knowing-nine-words-about-the/) [Andrew Aydin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-aydin/) > [“was my first indication that the policies of Mamaw’s “party of the working man”—the Democrats—weren’t all they were cracked up to be. Political scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/was-my-first-indication-that-the-policies-of-mamaw-s-party-of-the/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [The mainstream sort of presentation of the civil rights movement was not something that I directly inherited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-mainstream-sort-of-presentation-of-the-civil-rights-movement-was/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [As a southerner born after the epic events of the civil rights movement, I've always wondered how on earth people of good will could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/as-a-southerner-born-after-the-epic-events-of-the-civil-rights/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [I don't think the riots derailed the civil rights movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-louis-gates/i-don-t-think-the-riots-derailed-the-civil-rights-movement/) [Henry Louis Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-louis-gates/) > [You can't separate the phenomenal birth of unionism in the United States of America from the Pullman porters. This same small group of men,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-braugher/you-can-t-separate-the-phenomenal-birth-of-unionism-in-the-united/) [Andre Braugher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-braugher/) > [LISTEN: If you ever wondered what you would do if you were alive in the Civil Rights Movement, NOW IS THE TIME to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-king/listen-if-you-ever-wondered-what-you-would-do-if-you-were-alive-in/) [Shaun King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-king/) > [When people are breaking the law, they don’t get an invitation to the White House. They ought to be getting an invitation to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/when-people-are-breaking-the-law-they-don-t-get-an-invitation-to-the/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) > [I took an interest in the Civil Rights Movement. I listened to Martin Luther King. The Vietnam War was raging. 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I wanted to support the civil rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-a-good-liberal-in-some-sense-at-that-point-i-wanted-to-end-a/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I don't think there are any pure Africans of the African Americans, but the African part of our history was pretty much taken away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/i-don-t-think-there-are-any-pure-africans-of-the-african-americans/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [Covering the civil-rights movement was a mind- and eye-opener for me. Houston was a segregated society, as was Texas as a whole - some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rather/covering-the-civil-rights-movement-was-a-mind-and-eye-opener-for-me/) [Dan Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rather/) [Browse all 412 Civil rights movement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights-movement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“the time is always right to do the right thing”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Luther King Jr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-time-is-always-right-to-do-the-right-thing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civil rights movement" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-time-is-always-right-to-do-the-right-thing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_civil-rights-movemen_the-time-is-always-right-to-do-the-right_3170251.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_civil-rights-movemen_the-time-is-always-right-to-do-the-right_3170251.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1eb/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_civil-rights-movemen_the-time-is-always-right-to-do-the-right_3170251.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“the time is always right to do the right thing” — Martin Luther King Jr", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Martin Luther King Jr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“the time is always right to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-time-is-always-right-to-do-the-right-thing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-time-is-always-right-to-do-the-right-thing/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```