Bernice King is a lawyer, minister, and the CEO of The King Center in Atlanta, Georgia. She is the daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King.
At Good Good Good we love quotes about hope, quotes about activism, and quotes about justice — and every time we collect quotes, we come across dozens of beautiful quotes from Bernice King.
Today we're sharing a list of quotes from her about maintaining a sense of hope, continuing her father's mission of love, and speaking out against injustice.
We also included quotes from Bernice King about her parents, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King — whose activism inspired her to pursue preaching, social justice, and leadership.
As we prepare to honor Dr. King on MLK Day, may these words from Bernice King inspire us to take action in the fight against injustice, hate, violence, and apathy:
Bernice King Quotes on Love, Justice, Hope, and Nonviolence
“Being truthful about the state of our nation and world does not equal losing hope. Hope sees truth and still believes in better. That which dismisses or does not seek truth, but grins, saying ‘It will be okay,’ is naiveté, not hope.”
— Bernice King
“Understanding that #ThisIsAmerica shouldn’t evoke hopelessness. Hope and truth are connected. Hope is not naïveté. It is bearing witness to truth, STILL believing in better and yielding the energy to contribute to better.”
— Bernice King
“Consider all of the possibilities for positive global progress if we utilized nonviolence as the central value of our culture, encompassing our law enforcement and labor practices, which currently include people in numerous nations working for inhumane wages in unhealthy conditions.”
— Bernice King
“Continue to speak out against all forms of injustice to yourselves and others, and you will set a mighty example for your children and for future generations.”
— Bernice King
“I am urging Americans to be more careful about the kinds of media we support with our consumer spending. We’ve got to invest less in the media that glorifies violence and more in entertainment that lifts up the values of love, compassion, and the best in human nature.”
— Bernice King
“Love is not passive.
It is active, transformative, and just.”
— Bernice King
“Mourning a “celebrity” does not = lack of “consciousness.”
And sometimes, the death of someone we feel like we knew, but we never actually touched, triggers pain about the deaths of people we knew well.
We are on a brief pilgrimage here, reconciling life and death.
Love well.”
— Bernice King
“Choosing nonviolence does not mean that one will never get angry or become upset with others, including the ones we love.”
— Bernice King
“Shining a light on someone else doesn’t diminish mine. Take time here to encourage people and lift them up.”
— Bernice King
"Shining a light on someone else doesn’t diminish mine. Take time here to encourage people and lift them up."
— Bernice King
“Justice and revenge are not the same thing.
Justice is a continuum that includes accountability, change toward preventing further injustice, strategic hope, etc.
As my father said, ‘Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.’”
— Bernice King
“The work is here.
The work is offline.
The work is online.
The work is internal.
The work is external.
The work is in the streets.
The work is in C-suites.
The work is in advocacy.
The work is in art.
The work is local.
The work is global.
The work is wherever we are.”
— Bernice King
“You will encounter misguided people from time to time. That’s part of life. The challenge is to educate them when you can, but always to keep your dignity and self-respect and persevere in your personal growth and development.”
— Bernice King
“All of us have to be committed to a life beyond our own aspirations.”
— Bernice King
“Seek out your brothers and sisters of other cultures and join together in building alliances to put an end to all forms of racial discrimination, bigotry, and prejudice. There are people of good will of all races, religions, and nations who will join you in common quest for the betterment of society.”
— Bernice King
“We must rediscover our faith in the future and join with one another to ensure that nonviolence is the prevalent choice for government, law enforcement, the non-profit sector, business, education, media, entertainment, arts, and for the global citizenry.”
— Bernice King
“It’s time we closely examine and adjust our collective view of ‘Love.’ Justice is one of Love’s offspring.”
— Bernice King
“Nonviolence does resist and it is revolutionary.
It resists with strategic attention to defeating injustice and not to dehumanizing others, even those who are doers of injustice.
It drives a love-centered revolution.
Nonviolence affirms that means and ends must align.”
— Bernice King
“Love is not a weak, spineless emotion; it is a powerful moral force on the side of justice.”
— Bernice King
“Always realize that even your strongest advocate and opponent is a part of the human family; albeit they may have small shortcomings and even strength in them, they are part of that human family.”
— Bernice King
"Always realize that even your strongest advocate and opponent is a part of the human family; albeit they may have small shortcomings and even strength in them, they are part of that human family."
— Bernice King
“Nonviolence pursues heart change, cultural change, AND systemic change. It is not a ‘Why can’t we all just get along?’ ideology. It is a philosophy and strategy for true peace, which includes justice.”
— Bernice King
“Even the statement, ‘Let’s invite more Black people to the table,’ implies ownership of the table and control of who is invited.
Racism is about power.”
— Bernice King
“Each of us must decide whether it is more important to be proved right or to provoke righteousness.”
— Bernice King
→ Read Paul Farmer's quotes about inequality and global health
“Quick reminder:
Kindness and justice are not synonymous.
Be kind.
And advocate and work for justice.
Lives depend on it.”
— Bernice King
“Environmental injustice is a tangible, intolerable example of an exhibited moral laxity and minimal concern for healthy standards by corporations and political structures based on the race, ethnicity, and class of those being impacted.”
— Bernice King
“We have to eradicate racism.
Have to.
And denying its current and past devastation won’t help us do that.
People who thwart truth telling about how racism heavily influenced history and our today are only ensuring that it remains tomorrow.
And that’s very likely the goal.”
— Bernice King
“If each of us works toward making a sincere effort when we wake up each morning with a renewed commitment and dedication to embracing nonviolence as a lifestyle, this world will become a better place, bringing us ever closer to the Beloved Community of which my father so often spoke.”
— Bernice King
“Nonviolence as a lifestyle and perpetual strategy will allow us to be on the offense instead of continually on the defense. We will be able to move the ball down the field with team decisions and playmaking versus constantly thinking about how the opposing forces are moving the ball.”
— Bernice King
Bernice King’s Quotes About Her Mother: Coretta Scott King
“Many people don’t know that my mother was the driving force that kept my father’s legacy at the forefront of American consciousness. Dr. King was a great man, a scholar, philosopher, theologian, orator—a leader with character and integrity. But in 1968 there was no guarantee that he would be in the annals of history the way that he is today had it not been for her solidifying his legacy.”
— Bernice King
“She created the idea of a day “on,” as opposed to a day “off.” She wanted it to become a holiday of community service so that people felt connected to his work and understood that the struggle continues. She believed that sacrifice is not something that is unrewarding. And ultimately, she wanted his legacy to expand into the realm of human rights. The journey began with civil rights for African Americans, but that was only just the beginning.”
— Bernice King
“My mother made countless sacrifices so that her children - and all children - could grow up in a better nation and world.”
— Bernice King
“Before she was a King, my mother was a peace advocate, a courageous leader, and an accomplished artist.”
— Bernice King
“In 1985, I joined my mother in a protest against apartheid in which we were arrested at the South African embassy in Washington, D.C. And she was at President-elect Mandela's side in Johannesburg when he claimed victory in South Africa’s first free elections.”
— Bernice King
→ Read Archbishop Desmond Tutu's best quotes about hope & Nelson Mandela's best quotes about freedom
“With The King Center as her base, my mother pressed on to fulfill a role that changed lives and legislation. She was a woman who refused to surrender the reigns of what she knew to be her assignment, even when male civil rights and business leaders tried to convince her that she should leave the work of building her husband's legacy to them.”
— Bernice King
“Before my mother was a King, she climbed trees and wrestled with boys. And won. Even as a child, Coretta Scott demonstrated that her gender would not deter her success, nor did it detract from her strength.”
— Bernice King
→ Read our collection of the best Coretta Scott King quotes
Bernice King’s Quotes About Her Father: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“My father literally fought his entire life to ensure the inclusion of all people because he understood that we were intertwined and connected together in humanity.”
— Bernice King
“We can do and be so much more to and for each other.
But, as my father said, “Our hope for creative living in this world house that we have inherited lies in our ability to reestablish the moral ends of our lives in personal character and social justice.”
Daddy continued, “Without this spiritual and moral reawakening we shall destroy ourselves in the misuse of our own instruments.”
That’s where we are.
Even the trauma and death caused every day won’t persuade some that we need gun reform and a revolution of values.
But we do.”
— Bernice King
“Daddy’s goal was the Beloved Community, where we engage each other with love, compassion and dignity
Where racism, war and poverty have been eradicated
Not where people say they’re blind to “color,” yet persist with injustice
A world where we see and treat each other humanely.”
— Bernice King
“In the end, I still have the same hope as my father — that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the last word.”
— Bernice King
“[My father] wasn’t assassinated because he wanted his children to be judged ‘by the content of their character.’
But for dismantling racism, poverty & militarism.
He wanted corrective measures to eradicate racism, not the delusion that it doesn’t exist.”
— Bernice King
“Some people quote King to sustain the very things he was assassinated for strategically opposing.
Racism still exists.
It’s still killing, still interconnected with militarism and poverty.
Still evil.
My father’s dream was not that we ignore racism, but that we eradicate it.”
— Bernice King
“Like my father, I believe that nonviolence is the antidote to what he called ‘the triple evils of racism, poverty and militarism./’ These three evils were consuming our hopes for community in 1964, and, fifty years later, we remain divided because of their festering effects.”
— Bernice King
“Daddy taught us through his philosophy of nonviolence, which placed love at the centerpiece, that through that love we can turn enemies into friends. Through that love, we can create more dignified atmospheres.”
— Bernice King
→ Read our collection of the best Martin Luther King Jr. quotes
