What would America be like if we loved black people as much as we loved black culture? — Amandla Stenberg
The story of the African-American people is the story of the settlement and growth of America itself, a universal tale that all people should experience. — Henry Louis Gates
As a strong and proud and intelligent Black man I have no problem expressing my respect for and adoration of the Black woman. Simply put, I love you. I love the Black woman. — Runoko Rashidi
What is Africa to me: Copper sun or scarlet sea, Jungle star or jungle track, Strong bronzed men, or regal black Women from whose loins I sprang When the birds of Eden sang? — Countee Cullen
The Negro is an exotic of the most gorgeous and superb countries of the world, and he has deep in his heart a passion for all that is splendid, rich and fanciful. — Harriet Beecher Stowe
I'd like to see marriage count again among African-Americans and not just in the society in general. — Leah Ward Sears
African rights and liberty is a subject that ought to fire the breast of every free man of color in these United States, and excite in his bosom a lively, deep, decided and heart-felt interest. — Maria W. Stewart
Body and soul, Black America reveals the extreme questions of contemporary life, questions of freedom and identity: How can I be who I am? — June Jordan
This is my genre...the happiness, tragedies, and the sorrows of mankind as realized in the teeming black ghetto. — Jacob Lawrence
Black women have always been these vixens, these animalistic erotic women. Why can't we just be the sexy American girl next door? — Tyra Banks
I love black thighs, you sisters better realize That real hair and real eyes get real guys. So before you makeup your face, you better make up your mind. — Common
America's greatest crime against the black man was not slavery or lynching, but that he was taught to wear a mask of self-hate and self-doubt. — Malcolm X
Our noses are broad, our lips are thick, our hair is nappy-we are black and beautiful! — Stokely Carmichael
Short African American Love Quotes
i found god in myself and i loved her i loved her fiercely — Ntozake Shange
Black culture is cool, but black issues sure aren't, huh? — Azealia Banks
Love overcomes hate. Love has no color. Love has no orientation. All is love. — Adam Lambert
For I am my mother's daughter, and the drums of Africa still beat in my heart. — Mary Mcleod Bethune
There is no shame in black beauty. — Lupita Nyong'o
Your mind will always believe everything you tell it. Feed it hope. Feed it truth. Feed it with love.
African American Quotes
I have written a song that says: If you ever lose someone dear to you, never say the words, "They're gone," and they'll come back. — Prince
If you can be the best, then why not try to be the best? — Garrett Morgan
Fighting is a sport; if you're not humble it's going to bring humbleness to you. — Mike Tyson
The secret to living well and longer is: eat half, walk double, laugh triple and love without measure.
It doesn't matter how strong your opinions are. If you don't use your power for positive change, you are, indeed, part of the problem. — Coretta Scott King
Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It's your place in the world; it's your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live. — Mae Jemison
Develop enough courage so that you can stand up for yourself and then stand up for somebody else. — Maya Angelou
Everyone comes with baggage. Find someone who loves you enough to help you unpack.
Revolution is a serious thing, the most serious thing about a revolutionarys life. When one commits oneself to the struggle, it must be for a lifetime. — Angela Davis
If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing. — Malcolm X
In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe. — Michael Jackson
Deal with yourself as a individual, worthy of respect and make everyone else deal with you the same way. — Nikki Giovanni
African American Culture Quotes
Violence is black children going to school for 12 years and receiving 6 years' worth of education. — Julian Bond
You should always respect what you are and your culture because if your art is going to mean anything, that is where it comes from. — Romare Bearden
How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.
To reaffirm the statement on the choosing of my identity, I come from two beautiful cultures which I have embraced, bridged, balanced, and identify with. I am proud to be who I am as a Dine' (Navajo) and Nahilii (African American) woman. Hozho', , & blessings — Radmilla Cody
The Afro-American experience is the only real culture that America has. Basically, every American tries to walk, talk, dress and behave like African Americans. — Hugh Masekela
The African-American community still needs to come together as one and stand up for rights of the people and of what's happening in their culture, their community. — Ziggy Marley
If I cut you off chances are you handed me the scissors.
The treatment of African and African American culture in our education was no different from their treatment in Tarzan movies. — Ishmael Reed
Coming up in the African-American culture, we were taught that we belonged to the universe and society was wrong in the way it dealt with us. We had to learn to express and affirm values not from the winning position. — Bernice Johnson Reagon
People ask me if I miss the States. I miss African Americans. But not the U.S. government or all the things they put me through. I miss African American culture, our speech, dance and cooking. — Assata Shakur
Jamestown changed the world in many ways, but perhaps it shaped our nation most profoundly the day Africans arrived. I can't think of a more relevant place to talk about the issues facing our community today than the place where African culture became American culture. — Tavis Smiley
African American Women Quotes
Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations. — Mae Jemison
I believe unconditionally in the ability of people to respond when they are told the truth. We need to be taught to study rather than believe, to inquire rather than to affirm. — Septima Poinsette Clark
Don't settle for average. Bring your best to the moment. Then, whether it fails or succeeds, at least you know you gave all you had. We need to live the best that's in us. — Angela Bassett
To love a person is to see all of their magic, and to remind them of it when they have forgotten.
In the dark times, if you have something to hold on to, which is yourself, you'll survive. — Whoopi Goldberg
You are on the eve of a complete victory. You can't go wrong. The world is behind you. — Josephine Baker
My father was a slave and my people died to build this country and I am going to stay here and have a part of it just like you. — Paul Robeson
Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are magic.
I've always believed that I could do whatever I set my mind to do. — Alice Coachman
What they call you is one thing. What you answer to is something else. — Lucille Clifton
I'm convinced that we Black women possess a special indestructible strength that allows us to not only get down, but to get up, to get through, and to get over. — Janet Jackson
The potential for greatness lives within us all. — Wilma Rudolph
African American History Quotes
We have a wonderful history behind us. ... If you are unable to demonstrate to the world that you have this record, the world will say to you, 'You are not worthy to enjoy the blessings of democracy or anything else'. — Carter G. Woodson
I hope to arrive to my death, late, in love and a little drunk.
Defining myself, as opposed to being defined by others, is one of the most difficult challenges I face. — Carol Moseley Braun
At no time within the last five-hundred years can one point to a single instance of the Negro as a race of haters. — Marcus Garvey
I am the dream and the hope of the slave — Maya Angelou
The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.
I had no idea that history was being made. I was just tired of giving up. — Rosa Parks
Whereas our ancestors (not of choice) were the first successful cultivators of the wilds of America, we their descendants feel ourselves entitled to participate in the blessings of her luxuriant soil. — Richard Allen
Whatever we believe about ourselves and our ability comes true for us. — Susan L. Taylor
I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. — Harriet Tubman
African Race Quotes
It's time we become comfortable with the uncomfortable conversations about race...Instead of being color blind, we need to be color brave. — Mellody Hobson
No white American ever thinks that any other race is wholly civilized until he wears the white man’s clothes, eats the white man’s food, speaks the white man’s language, and professes the white man’s religion. — Booker T. Washington
I am of the African race, and in the colour which is natural to them of the deepest dye; and it is under a sense of the most profound gratitude to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe. — Benjamin Banneker
Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.
The hearts of Afro-American women are too warm and too large for race hatred. Long suffering has so chastened them that they are developing a special sense of sympathy for all who suffer and fail of justice. — Fannie Barrier Williams
The history of a movement, the history of a nation, the history of a race is the guide-post of that movement's destiny, that nation's destiny, that race's destiny. — Marcus Garvey
Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so. — Brigham Young
A strong person loves, forgives, walks away, lets go, tries again, perseveres... No matter what life throws at them.
People of color, particularly African Americans, feel the stigma more keenly. In a race-conscious society, some don't want to be perceived as having yet another deficit. — Bebe Moore Campbell
Crime is fast destroying the moral fabric of South African cities, and is becoming a major threat to South African democracy as well as the prominent manifestation of a "class war" that is largely a continuation of the "race war" of yesterday. — Achille Mbembe
I saw all races, all colors, blue eyed blonds to black skinned Africans in true brotherhood! In unity! Living as one! Worshiping as one! No segregationists, no liberals; they would not have known how to interpret the meaning of those words — Malcolm X
People think if you describe someone with glistening brown skin you're writing about race, as if the whole of the African diaspora is in someone's brown skin. — Jamaica Kincaid
African American Music Quotes
I have this ability to find this hidden talent in people that sometimes even they didn't know they had. — Berry Gordy
There's a category for me. I like to be referred to as a good singer of good songs in good taste. — Sarah Vaughan
Regardless of what you play, the biggest thing is keeping the feel going. — Wes Montgomery
My own personal theory is that all popular music, in whatever form it is, to me, it all comes from Africa. Whether it's filtered through America or whatever - African-American. But I still think there's something in that roots music that's very, very African, and I think that's what unites people. — Paul Weller
Ray Charles' revolutionary approach to music was also reflected in his politics and his deep and abiding commitment to Martin Luther King and the plight of African-Americans. Ray Charles may not have been on the front lines, but he put his money where his mouth was. — Diane Watson
Seriously though, my father was the first African American to sign a contract with the Metropolitan Opera so I grew up with classical music and jazz in the home all the time. — Bobby McFerrin
Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced. — James A. Baldwin
I love berries. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, black berries, anything with an 'errie' in it! — Jordin Sparks
You don't fall in love with a gender, you fall in love with a person. — Andy Biersack
We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are. — J. K. Rowling
When someone that you love dies..it's like fireworks suddenly burning out in the sky and everything going black. — Muriel Barbery
To be beautiful, woman enough to have a black sweater, black skirt and walk arm in arm with the man she loves. — Yves Saint Laurent
Greatness occurs when your children love you, when your critics respect you and when you have peace of mind. — Quincy Jones
African Quotes
History teaches us that unity is strength, and cautions us to submerge and overcome our differences in the quest for common goals, to strive, with all our combined strength, for the path to true African brotherhood and unity. — Haile Selassie
It is clear that we must find an African solution to our problems, and that this can only be found in African unity. Divided we are weak; united, Africa could become one of the greatest forces for good in the world. — Kwame Nkrumah
I am an African. I owe my being to the hills and the valleys, the mountains and the glades, the rivers, the deserts, the trees, the flowers, the seas and the ever-changing seasons that define the face of our native land. — Thabo Mbeki
What we need in South Africa is for egos to be suppressed in favour of peace. We need to create a new breed of South Africans who love their country and love everybody, irrespective of their colour. — Chris Hani
We must learn to live the African way. It's the only way to live in freedom and with dignity — Thomas Sankara
The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked-up with the total liberation of the African Continent — Kwame Nkrumah
All people of African descent, whether they live in North or South America, the Caribbean, or in any part of the world are Africans and belong to the African nation. — Kwame Nkrumah
Don't be in a hurry to condemn because he doesn't do what you do or think as you think or as fast. There was a time when you didn't know what you know today. — Malcolm X
I feel safe even in the midst of my enemies; for the truth is powerful and will prevail. — Sojourner Truth
That is my best friend because it is a gift of the creator to Africans. It is a spirit. Marijuana has five fingers of creation...it enhances all your five senses. — Fela Kuti
African Culture Quotes
I've got to where I am in life not because of something I brought to the world but through something I found - the wealth of African culture. — Hugh Masekela
The equilibrium you admire in me is an unstable one, difficult to maintain. My inner life was split early between the call of the Ancestors and the call of Europe, between the exigencies of black-African culture and those of modern life. — Leopold Sedar Senghor
We have to realize our black heritage in order to give us strength to move on and progress. But as far as returning to the old African culture, it's unnecessary and it's not advantageous in many respects. We believe that culture itself will not liberate us. We're going to need some stronger stuff. — Huey Newton
There's an African proverb: 'When death finds you, may it find you alive.' Alive means living your own damned life, not the life that your parents wanted, or the life some cultural group or political party wanted, but the life that your own soul wants to live. — Michael Meade
Thousands of years ago, civilizations flourished in Africa which suffer not at all by comparison with those of other continents. In those centuries, Africans were politically free and economically independent. Their social patterns were their own and their cultures truly indigenous. — Haile Selassie
Families were living separately from the fathers. And so although, according to African culture, men were the head of the household, the truth is women were the ones who were raising everybody, including men. And growing up with my mother, that was something I really learned to appreciate. — Trevor Noah
My dear brother Barack Obama has a certain fear of free black men. As a young brother who grows up in a white context, brilliant African father, he's always had to fear being a white man with black skin. All he has known culturally is white. He has a certain rootlessness, a deracination. — Cornel West
As players of instruments, it is our duty to reach out and give light to those in the dark in whatever way that we can. All my actions are a fulfilment of all the African music genres - I'm only trying to maintain the culture and the tradition. I am a musician. — Sizzla
A lot of my work reflects the incredible influence that America has had on contemporary African culture. Some of it's insidious, some of it's innocuous, some of it's invisible. It's there. — Wangechi Mutu
It's obvious that the rest of the world loves high African culture - African culture, period. — Hugh Masekela
African Women Quotes
WOMEN must be at the forefront of nation-building to bring the South African citizenry together and, therefore, develop a whole new ethos of human co-existence — Steven Biko
African women in general need to know that it's OK for them to be the way they are - to see the way they are as a strength, and to be liberated from fear and from silence. — Wangari Maathai
Don't let anything stop you. There will be times when you'll be disappointed, but you can't stop. Make yourself the best that you can make out of what you are. The very best. — Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander
The development of Africa will not happen without the effective participation of women. Our forefathers' image of women must be buried once for all. — Ousmane Sembene
I'm realizing, you don't need to change anything about yourself. This is who you are, and it's okay. That's daring. — Uzo Aduba
The virtue of female slaves is wholly at the mercy of irresponsible tyrants, and women are bought and sold in our slave markets, to gratify the brutal lust of those who bear the name of Christians. — Sarah Moore Grimke
When I was at Baylor, I wasn't fully happy because I couldn't be all the way out. It feels so good saying it: I am a strong, black lesbian woman. — Brittney Griner
Like a lot of Black women, I have always had to invent the power my freedom requires. — June Jordan
I am convinced that the Black man will only reach his full potential when he learns to draw upon the strengths and insights of the Black woman. — Manning Marable
I suggest that Black feminist thought consists of specialised knowledge created by African-American women which clarifies a standpoint of and for Black women. In other words, Black feminist thought encompasses theoretical interpretations of Black women's reality by those who live it. — Patricia Hill Collins
A moment of anger can destroy a lifetime of work, whereas a moment of love can break barriers that took a lifetime to build. — Leon Brown
It doesn't matter what you all think, what you all say about me, because when I go home at night, the same people that I look in the face, my family that I love, that's all that really matters to me. — Marshawn Lynch
Great men cultivate love...only little men cherish a spirit of hatred — Booker T. Washington
Listen to yourself, not the noise of the world. Only you know what is right for you. — Leon Brown
Look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
Embrace struggle... It is your greatest teacher. — Russell Simmons
Don't ever think I fell for you, or fell over you. I didn't fall in love, I rose in it. — Toni Morrison
Sometimes we have to lose our way to find out what we really want, for we often ignore our needs until we are lost. — Leon Brown
What are you doing for others? — Martin Luther King, Jr.
You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man. — Frederick Douglass
Let choice whisper in your ear and love murmur in your heart. Be ready. Here comes life. — Maya Angelou
I love "Phenomenal Woman." The experiences she had of being African American in the U.S. - that itself is a task. I appreciate the hardships Maya Angelou went through for our generation. I'm super influenced by the black people that paved the way for us. — Serena Williams
If the past is not resolved, future relationships will suffer. Let your heart heal, before you open the door to another. — Leon Brown
Racism is not an excuse to not do the best you can. — Arthur Ashe
You will only find the happiness you seek when you drop your negative attitude towards life, embrace life and be happy. — Leon Brown
I am so hip even my errors are correct — Nikki Giovanni
I would love to get a role that changes the landscape of being an African American woman in television and film. — Candice Patton
We have before us the glorious opportunity to inject a new dimension of love into the veins of our civilization. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
This is what I am learning, at 82 years old: the main thing is to be in love with the search for truth. — Maya Angelou
Understand that you own nothing. Everything that surrounds you is temporary. Only the love in your heart will last forever. — Leon Brown
I refuse to accept the view . . . that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
I love my own culture. I love my African-American culture very deeply, and I know it deserves to be honored. You have to be aware that people are suffering unjustly, and given our own history we have a duty to stand for the people who are being treated like our parents and grandparents and children were treated. — Alice Walker
I'm proud to be an American. I'm proud to be an African American in America. I've had some interesting experiences: some great, some not so great, but I love it here. — Wesley Snipes
We were so young, so in love, and so in debt. — Michelle Obama
As we women know, there are so many other hurdles that we have to cross that I would love it if we could stop having the race conversation so that we can get women further on. You know, a female president now that we have an African American president. Maybe we can get an Asian female, a gay person? — Octavia Spencer
I could fall in love with a sumo wrestler if he told stories and made me laugh. Obviously, it would be easier if someone was African-American and lived next door and went to the same church. Because then I wouldn't have to translate. — Maya Angelou
One of my brothers in my adopted family converted to Islam and I love him with all my heart. I have Muslim women who understand my pain and they give me lots of love and support. But what Black Americans never think about is that the African version of Islam is totally different from American Islam. They've never seen mothers doused in gasoline and set on fire for ’religious' reasons. So they don't know what I'm talking about. — Kola Boof
Here's what my love affair with quotations has taught me: the more you focus on words that uplift you, the more you embody the ideas contained in those words. — Oprah Winfrey
My audience went, 'Wait, why is she singing jazz? What's going on?' And then they went, 'Oh, because she can. Because she loves it.' And jazz, a music invented by the African-American community, is the greatest art form, I believe, to have ever come out of this country. — Lady Gaga
I love the fact that a lot of my audience is people from the inner city. African-Americans love my films. Whenever I go to have a meeting at Universal, the security guard just leaps to his feet and comes over, bumps my hand, and says, "Thank you! Thank you, I love your films!" And it's people who are kind of at the cutting edge of life and survival, and being near the nitty-gritty, who like my films, and I like that. — Wes Craven
I would love to see more African-American females engaged in all aspects of sports. All of the research tells us that participation in sports has a very positive impact in both the short and long term. Girls who participate in sports have a higher self-esteem and are more likely to graduate from college, and 80 percent of female executives played team sports growing up. — Laurel J. Richie
I have 90 percent or 95 percent support in the African American community and it's not sort of "Well, he's black, so it's okay. We're not going to say anything even though we're seething." And I hang out with a lot of middle-aged black women, and they're not casual in their support of me. There's a lot of love forthcoming. Partly because they understand the constraints of this society. They know that this is hard. — Barack Obama
It's exciting to me that Ride Along is a movie that has two African American leads, but it's even more exciting to me that it's not a movie about two African American leads. They just happen to be African American. It's a universal story. It's a story about a guy in love with a girl, and he's gotta get the approval of the overbearing, mean brother. That's a universal theme. — Will Packer
Teachers and librarians can be the most effective advocates for diversifying children's and young adult books. When I speak to publishers, they're going to expect me to say that I would love to see more books by Native American authors and African-American authors and Arab-American authors. But when a teacher or librarian says this to publishers, it can have a profound effect. — Pat Mora
Oh, I love labels, as long as they are numerous. I'm an American writer. I'm a Nigerian writer. I'm a Nigerian American writer. I'm an African writer. I'm a Yoruba writer. I'm an African American writer. I'm a writer who's been strongly influenced by European precedents. I'm a writer who feels very close to literary practice in India - which I go to quite often - and to writers over there. — Teju Cole
I love the fact that a lot of my audience is people from the inner city. African-Americans love my films. — Wes Craven
A very hurting thing for Black Americans - to feel that we can't love our enemies. People forget what a great tradition we have as African-Americans in the practice of forgiveness and compassion. And if we neglect that tradition, we suffer. — Bell Hooks
The good and bad are all tangled up together. American popular music is loved around the world because of its African rhythm. But that wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for slavery. — Pete Seeger
In Conclusion
Which quotation resonated with you best? Did you enjoy our collection of african american love quotes? Or may be you have a slogan about african american love to suggest. Let us know using our contact form.
Citation
Feel free to cite and use any of the quotes in this collection of african american love quotations. For popular citation styles(APA, Chicago, MLA), please use this citation page.
