The Fort Wayne Public Art Commission invites you to share which phrases from Dr. King’s speech in Fort Wayne on June 5, 1963 resonate with you the most. Your votes will support the development of Pillars of Hope and Justice, a monument honoring the 60th anniversary of Dr. King’s visit to Fort Wayne. Results of the survey will be shared with the community in the summer of 2022.

*Please note that the artists have left Dr. King's words unchanged, and the language we use to talk respectfully about race is different now in the 21st century. Dr. King preferred to use the word "Negro" to describe Black Americans. In our time, this word may sound differently. Dr. King also uses the term "men" to refer to all people regardless of gender. We want to respond to the community's input about how you feel about this older language being preserved in the memorial.

Please rate each quote on a scale from 1 to 5. A 5 means you feel strongly that a quote MUST be included, and a 1 means a quote should NOT be included.

5 Stars: This quote must be included!
4 Stars: I hope you include this quote
3 Stars: This quote is pretty good
2 Stars: I don't care whether or not you include this quote
1 Star: I don't want this quote included

If you have any questions please reach out to us at public.art@cityoffortwayne.org

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A rendering of Pillars of Hope and Justice

<strong>A rendering of Pillars of Hope and Justice</strong>

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* 1. There comes a time…when a people gets tired of injustice, oppression, exploitation. We want to be free!

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* 2. The idea of freedom and human dignity's time has come.

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* 3. The Negro is no longer willing to accept racial segregation. It is sociologically untenable, politically unsound and morally wrong. The new Negro has matured in thinking and arrived at a point when he wants freedom--and not gradually. He is definitely sick of being segregated. Segregation is a new form of slavery covered with the niceties of civilization.

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* 4. Segregation is a new form of slavery covered with the niceties of civilization.

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* 5. We will no longer sell our birthright of freedom for a mess of segregationist pottage.

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* 6. The non-violent movement has given the Negro a new sense of dignity and self-respect after 300 years. The struggle reveals that the Negro now recognizes the urgency of the movement. He had come to feel that perhaps they were inferior. He has re-evaluated himself. The Negro today will suffer, sacrifice, even die to be free.

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* 7. To those moderates, sincere people who are saying "slow-up, you're moving too fast," I say, "we can't afford to slow up. We love America too much." ....How is possible to go slow when you're cranked up to climb the high road to freedom? Going slow is a substitute for getting us to stop.

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* 8. People desiring a cooling off period are actually seeking a deep freeze.

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* 9. The race problem in the United States must be solved or the United States will be relegated to a second-rate power in the world. Our Nation has a date with destiny. If moderation means pushing on toward the goal of meeting that destiny, then it is good. If it means slowing up, then moderation is a vice which all men of good will must oppose."

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* 10. America can not bring freedom to other people until she treats her own people right. America's image needs to be lifted.

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* 11. We're through with gradualism, tokenism, see-how-far-you've-come-ism. We're through with we've-done-more-for-your-people-than-anyone-elseism. Gradualism has proved to be merely escapism.

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* 12. We can't wait any longer. Now is the time. Now is the time to get rid of segregation. Now is the time to make the American dream a reality.

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* 13. I'm still convinced that if the Negro succumbs to the temptation to use violence in the struggle for freedom, generations yet unborn will suffer the consequences.

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* 14. Non-violence should not be dismissed as a weak method. It works on the conscience. It enables us to stand before our most bitter opponents and meet their physical force with soul force. If you go to jail, you transform it from a jungle of shame to a haven of human dignity.

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* 15. We have learned to stand up against the evil system and still not hate in the process. We have discovered that love works miracles.

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* 16. We can say to our opponents, "we will match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering. We will wear you down by our capacity to suffer and one day, we will win our freedom, and win you in the process, and our victory will be a doubled victory."

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* 17. I am convinced that Black supremacy is as dangerous as White supremacy. All men of good will fight against segregation, discrimination, bigotry, and the madness of militarism.

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* 18. Principles are frequently sacrificed to create the illusion of a well-adjusted society. This is why I am calling for the immediate formation of a new organization, “The International Association for the Advancement of Creative Maladjustment.”

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* 19. There is a need for men and women to be as maladjusted as the prophet Amos. In his day, in the midst of injustices, his proud words echo across the centuries, “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

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* 20. There is a need for men and women today to be as maladjusted as Abraham Lincoln, who had the vision to see that this nation could not exist half-slave and half-free.

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* 21. There is a need for us to be as maladjusted as Jefferson, who in the midst of an age amazingly adjusted to slavery cried with words rising to cosmic proportions, “All men are created equal.”

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* 22. There is a need for men to be as maladjusted as Jesus of Nazareth, who could stand amid the men and women of his day, amid the intricacies of the formidable military machinery of the Roman Empire, to say, “He who lives by the sword will perish by the sword,” and cry out, “Love your enemies; bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you.”

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* 23. We will develop a divine discontent about discrimination in all its forms, even the subtle forms in Indiana.

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* 24. We Shall Overcome!

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* 25. We shall overcome in the successful conclusion of our non-violent revolution.

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* 26. We shall overcome because, in the words of Thomas Carlyle, "no lie can live forever."

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* 27. We shall overcome because the Bible is right: Ye shall reap what ye sow.

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* 28. We will speed the day when all men will join hands and sing, free at last.

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* 29. What is your Zip Code

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* 30. Age

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* 31. Race

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* 32. Ethnicity

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* 33. Gender

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* 34. If you'd like to stay in touch please comment your email below

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