King's lines on perseverance come mostly from two very different settings: a 1960 commencement address at Spelman College, delivered near the start of the movement, and "The Drum Major Instinct," a sermon he gave at Ebenezer Baptist Church on February 4, 1968, two months before he was killed. The Spelman speech is aimed at people just starting out; the sermon is aimed at people who've been at something a long time and need a reason to keep going that isn't recognition. Both make the same underlying case: the pace doesn't matter nearly as much as not stopping.
“If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
King said this in a 1960 commencement address at Spelman College, early in the civil rights movement, when the pace of change was itself an open political question.
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
“The time is always right to do what is right.”
“Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
“Not everybody can be famous, but everybody can be great, because greatness is determined by service.”
From a sermon King delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church on February 4, 1968, two months before his assassination. He preached about the human desire for recognition while arguing that service, not fame, was the real measure of greatness.
“We are prone to judge success by the index of our salary or the size of our automobiles rather than by the quality of our service.”
From the same 1968 sermon, aimed at redefining what counts as getting somewhere, not just staying in motion.
“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
A Line He Used More Than Once
King gave a version of the "if you can't fly, then run" line at Spelman College in 1960, and kept coming back to that same idea for the rest of his life: keep moving, even if the pace changes. It's less about big, dramatic action and more about not stopping, which is a harder thing to sustain than it sounds.
Related Quotes on Perseverance
Perseverance overlaps with hope and faith throughout King's writing, since he treated the ability to keep going as something you have to actively hold onto, not a trait some people just have. The lines below aren't filed under "perseverance" in his own writing, but they carry the same push.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
“A right delayed is a right denied.”
“Only in the darkness can you see the stars.”
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”
“With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.”
“We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
“Courage is an inner resolution to go forward despite obstacles.”
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”
“Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.”
“The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority.”
“We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.”
“Our God is marching on.”
“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.”
“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”
“There is nothing greater in all the world than freedom. It is worth paying for. It is worth losing a job for.”
“Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time.”
“Life's most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?”
“1963 is not an end, but a beginning.”
“We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.”
“A man who won't die for something is not fit to live.”
“Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.”
“The nonviolent resister does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent, but to win his friendship and understanding.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What did MLK say about perseverance?
"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward." From a 1960 commencement address at Spelman College.
What is "The Drum Major Instinct" sermon about?
Delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church on February 4, 1968, it addresses the human desire for recognition and argues that real greatness comes from service, not fame — "Not everybody can be famous, but everybody can be great, because greatness is determined by service."
What did MLK say about taking the first step without seeing the whole path?
Two similar lines circulate — "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase" and "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step" — both widely attributed to King but not confirmed against a specific published source.
What did MLK say about how we measure success?
"We are prone to judge success by the index of our salary or the size of our automobiles rather than by the quality of our service." From The Drum Major Instinct, 1968.
What did MLK say about doing what's right, regardless of timing?
"The time is always right to do what is right," delivered at Oberlin College in 1965.