--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We shall have to repent in this…" description: "\"We shall have to repent in this generation , not so much for the evil deeds of the wicked people, but for the appalling silence of the good people\" — M..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f7/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_generations_we-shall-have-to-repent-in-this-generati_1834126.jpg" --- # We shall have to repent in this generation , not so much… ![“We shall have to repent in this generation , not so much for the evil deeds of the wicked people, but for the appalling silence of the good people” quote by Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f7/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_generations_we-shall-have-to-repent-in-this-generati_1834126.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f7/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_generations_we-shall-have-to-repent-in-this-generati_1834126.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f7/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_generations_we-shall-have-to-repent-in-this-generati_1834126.jpg) > “We shall have to repent in this generation , not so much for the evil deeds of the wicked people, but for the appalling silence of the good people” [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. Good people must speak out; silence fuels evil more than overt wrongdoing. **In simple terms:** Silence of good is dangerous. Key Takeaway Speak against injustice. Themes activism morality silence Mood urgent hopeful Type motivational call‑to‑action When to use this quote - community meetings - political protests - online discourse Key Concepts ethics social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What will you speak up about? - How does silence affect society? A Different Perspective Fear of backlash may inhibit speech. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Good people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-people/) [Wicked People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wicked-people/) ## Related quotes > [“We will have to repent, in this generation, not merely for the hateful words and actions of bad people, but for the appalling silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-follett/we-will-have-to-repent-in-this-generation-not-merely-for-the-hateful/) [Ken Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-follett/) > [“We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/we-will-have-to-repent-in-this-generation-not-merely-for-the-hateful-2/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“It may well be that we will have to repent in this generation. 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That's when you're able to hear best" -Ruby”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-entrada-kelly/silence-is-good-sometimes-that-s-when-you-re-able-to-hear-best-ruby/) [Erin Entrada Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-entrada-kelly/) ## More by Martin Luther King Jr > [We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/we-have-learned-to-fly-the-air-like-birds-and-swim-the-sea-like-fish/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [I had a dreamthat you would just shut the fuck up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/i-had-a-dreamthat-you-would-just-shut-the-fuck-up/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice; say that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/yes-if-you-want-to-say-that-i-was-a-drum-major-say-that-i-was-a-drum/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. 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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. And I've looked over, and I've seen the promised land! I may not get there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/and-he-s-allowed-me-to-go-to-the-mountain-and-i-ve-looked-over-and-i/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/we-know-through-painful-experience-that-freedom-is-never-voluntarily/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. 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