Selma (2014)

David Oyelowo: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Photos 

Quotes 

• Martin Luther King Jr. : [somberly yet passionately speaking to church congregation at a funeral]  Who murdered Jimmie Lee Jackson? Every white lawman who abuses the law to terrorize. Every white politician who feeds on prejudice and hatred. Every white preacher who preaches the Bible and stays silent before his white congregation. Who murdered Jimmie Lee Jackson? Every Negro man and woman who stands by without joining this fight as their brothers and sisters are brutalized, humiliated, and ripped from this Earth.

• Martin Luther King Jr. : Our lives are not fully lived if we're not willing to die for those we love, for what we believe.

• Martin Luther King Jr. : Those who have gone before us say "no more"! No more!

  [church congregation repeats in unison] 

  Martin Luther King Jr. : NO MORE!

  [church congregation again repeats him] 

  Martin Luther King Jr. : That means protest! That means march! That means disturb the peace! That means jail! That means risk! That is hard!

  [church congregation applauds] 

• Martin Luther King Jr. : We will not wait any longer!

  [church congregation applauds] 

  Martin Luther King Jr. : Give us the vote!

  Jimmie Lee Jackson : [stands up and applauds]  That's right - no more!

  Martin Luther King Jr. : We're not asking - we're demanding! Give us the vote!

  [church congregation resoundingly repeats and applauds] 

• Martin Luther King Jr. : Selma it is.

• Martin Luther King Jr. : We need your involvement here, Mr. President. We deserve your help as citizens of this country. Citizens under attack.

  President Lyndon B. Johnson : Now, you listen to me. You listen to me. You're an activist. I'm a politician. You got one big issue. I got a hundred and one.

• Martin Luther King Jr. : What happens when a man says enough is enough?

• Martin Luther King Jr. : It is unacceptable that they use their power to keep us voiceless.

• Martin Luther King Jr. : God was the first to cry.

• Martin Luther King Jr. : We negotiate, we demonstrate, we resist.

• Martin Luther King Jr. : We must march! We must stand up!

• Martin Luther King Jr. : [from trailer]  WE MUST MAKE A MASSIVE DEMONSTRATION!

• Martin Luther King Jr. : No, Sheriff Clark, we're going in the front.

• Martin Luther King Jr. : Boycotting the buses in Montgomery. Segregation in Birmingham. Now? Voting in Selma. One struggle ends just to go right to the next and the next. If you think of in that way, it's hard robe, but I don't think of it that way. I think of these efforts is one effort and that effort is for our life. A life as a community, a life as a nation. For our lives we can do this. We must do this, we see children become victims of one of the most vicious crimes ever perpetrated against humanity within the walls of their own church. They are sainted now. The are the sainted ones in this quest for freedom and the speak to us still. The say to us, to all of us colors and creeds that we must do this. The say to us that it is unacceptable for more than 50% of Selma to be negro and yet less than two percent of negroes here being able to vote and determine their own destiny by humans beings. They say to us that the local white leadership use their power that keep us away from the ballot box and keep us voiceless. As long as I am unable to exercise my constitutional right to vote, I do not have command of my own life, I can not determine my own destiny, for this determined for me by people who rather see me suffer than succeed. Those that have gone before us say no more, no more. That means protest, that means march, that means disturb the peace, that means jail, that means risk and that is hard. We will not wait any longer. Give us the vote.