The time is always ripe to do right.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. wrote this line in his 1963 “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” a message he addressed to clergymen who were critical of his nonviolent protests. This particular quote was King's response to calls for the racial justice movement to slow down and be patient. King described the liberation of Black Americans as woven into the overarching American goal of freedom. He urged his fellow clergymen and other bystanders to join this timely and urgent cause, because there is no wrong time to fight for justice.