January 17, 2011 marks 25 years that Martin Luther King Day has been recognized as a holiday.

Many people take this special day for granted and just look at it as a day off of work. Yet, this national holiday honoring Dr. King’s birthday is an occasion for us to celebrate and reflect on his powerful legacy. This year, take time to honor the man who paved the way for the America that we love today.

Martin Luther King Day symbolizes our nation’s commitment to peace, equality, justice and universal brotherhoodfor all people regardless of their race, religion, social status, economic status or gender.

With this, Dr. King’s words were so powerful that they brought our country together for the greater good.  He dedicated his life to his vision of saving humanity from hatred.  In honor of his influence, Socialtik Magazine gives you our top ten Martin Luther King Quotes:

• “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
• “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than  on  programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”
• “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
• “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
• “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”
• “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
• “If we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious values – that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all reality has spiritual control.”
• “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
• “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”
• “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.”