--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The time comes when silence is betrayal…" description: "\"The time comes when silence is betrayal. That time has come for us today... ...some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/martin-luther-king-jr-127_agony_the-time-comes-when-silence-is-betrayal_855237.png" --- # The time comes when silence is betrayal. That time has… ![“The time comes when silence is betrayal. That time has come for us today... ...some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak.” quote by Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/martin-luther-king-jr-127_agony_the-time-comes-when-silence-is-betrayal_855237.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/martin-luther-king-jr-127_agony_the-time-comes-when-silence-is-betrayal_855237.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9dd/martin-luther-king-jr-127_agony_the-time-comes-when-silence-is-betrayal_855237.png) > “The time comes when silence is betrayal. That time has come for us today... ...some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak.” [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Silence in the face of injustice is a betrayal; speaking out, though painful, is a moral duty. **In simple terms:** Speak against injustice despite pain. Key Takeaway Take a stand and voice truth even when hard. Themes justice activism morality Mood urgent determined Type political inspirational When to use this quote - public protest - community organizing - policy advocacy - personal conversations - media commentary Key Concepts civil rights ethical responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What injustices are you witnessing now? - How can you speak truthfully without causing unnecessary harm? A Different Perspective Speaking may expose one to personal risk or backlash. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agony/) [Betrayal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/betrayal/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Vocation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vocation/) ## Related quotes > [“Some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the calling to speak is often a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/some-of-us-who-have-already-begun-to-break-the-silence-of-the-night/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [The recent statement of your executive committee are the sentiments of my own heart and I found myself in full accord when I read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-recent-statement-of-your-executive-committee-are-the-sentiments/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [A time comes when silence is betrayal. Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/a-time-comes-when-silence-is-betrayal-even-when-pressed-by-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [A time comes when silence is betrayal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/a-time-comes-when-silence-is-betrayal/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [A time comes when silence is betrayal. That time has come for us in relation to Vietnam. A nation that continues year after year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/a-time-comes-when-silence-is-betrayal-that-time-has-come-for-us-in/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The decision to speak out is the vocation and lifelong peril by which the intellectual must live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-boyle/the-decision-to-speak-out-is-the-vocation-and-lifelong-peril-by-which/) [Kay Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-boyle/) > [there are times when you have to speak because silence is betrayal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/there-are-times-when-you-have-to-speak-because-silence-is-betrayal/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [We sit silently and watch the world around us. This has taken a lifetime to learn. It seems only the old are able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/we-sit-silently-and-watch-the-world-around-us-this-has-taken-a/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [It's that moon again, slung so fat and low in the tropical night, calling out across a curdled sky and into the quivering ears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/it-s-that-moon-again-slung-so-fat-and-low-in-the-tropical-night/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [“No,” I said slowly, trying to put the brakes on my escalating heart beat, “I did not give you my number last night.” Why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raine-miller/no-i-said-slowly-trying-to-put-the-brakes-on-my-escalating-heart-beat/) [Raine Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raine-miller/) > [The wild night is calling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/the-wild-night-is-calling/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [There comes a time when silence is betrayal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/there-comes-a-time-when-silence-is-betrayal/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [I agree with Dante, that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-agree-with-dante-that-the-hottest-places-in-hell-are-reserved-for/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Stories break silence and nourish those who work, feel, and dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-naranjo/stories-break-silence-and-nourish-those-who-work-feel-and-dream/) Carmen Naranjo > [Strong efforts may be made to deny the place, to silence the authentic, but the spirit of things will break through that silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-haynes/strong-efforts-may-be-made-to-deny-the-place-to-silence-the-authentic/) John Haynes ## 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/) [Explore all 1,210 Martin Luther King, Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) ## More Agony quotes > [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [“aaron would not come out aaron entered into agony.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/aaron-would-not-come-out-aaron-entered-into-agony/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [As we look upon that agony and those tearful prayers, let us not only look with thankfulness; but let that kneeling Saviour teach us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/as-we-look-upon-that-agony-and-those-tearful-prayers-let-us-not-only/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [Love masters agony; the soul that seemed Forsaken feels her present God again And in her Father's arms Contented dies away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keble/love-masters-agony-the-soul-that-seemed-forsaken-feels-her-present/) [John Keble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keble/) > [I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/i-have-seen-war-i-have-seen-war-on-land-and-sea-i-have-seen-blood/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [“Anger was a reliable defense, but one that allowed no chance of final victory. Anger was a medicine but never a cure, briefly numbing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/anger-was-a-reliable-defense-but-one-that-allowed-no-chance-of-final/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [The cure is in the house, not brought by other hands from distant places, but by its own, in agony and blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-cure-is-in-the-house-not-brought-by-other-hands-from-distant/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Sometimes, a lie is told in kindness. I don't believe it ever works kindly. The quick pain of truth can pass away, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/sometimes-a-lie-is-told-in-kindness-i-don-t-believe-it-ever-works/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [The young man shivered. 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