Inscription Wall at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC

© Ken Howard/Alam

Words of wisdom. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

This striking memorial to Civil Rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr., displays 14 powerful quotes from his speeches and writings. The Inscription Wall, in Washington DC, lets the visitor browse the quotes without the structure of a timeline—the earliest quote dates to 1956 and the Montgomery Bus Boycott; the most recent is taken from Dr. King's sermon at the National Cathedral in Washington just four days before he was assassinated.

While the quotations float freely in time, there is a clear overarching theme. The National Park Service explains that the inscriptions 'stress four primary messages of Dr. King: justice, democracy, hope, and love.'

Perhaps surprisingly, there are no quotes from Dr. King's famous 'I Have a Dream' speech. That's not an oversight, though: The whole memorial has that legendary speech as its theme.