I don't want a Black History Month. Black history is American history. — Morgan Freeman
We should be inspired by people... who show that human beings can be kind, brave, generous, beautiful, strong-even in the most difficult circumstances. — Rachel Corrie
When people are inspired, they achieve more than they ever thought possible. — Michael Abrashoff
The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do. — Kobe Bryant
If we have the courage and tenacity of our forebears, who stood firmly like a rock against the lash of slavery, we shall find a way to do for our day what they did for theirs. — Mary Mcleod Bethune
Be as proud of your race today as our as our fathers were in days of yore. We have beautiful history, and we shall create another in the future that will astonish the world. — Marcus Garvey
The Black skin is not a badge of shame, but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness. — Marcus Garvey
The Black family of the future will foster our liberation, enhance our self-esteem, and shape our ideas and goals. — Dorothy Height
Black is beautiful when it is a slum kid studying to enter college, when it is a man learning new skills for a new job. . . . — Whitney M. Young
Young people need to be inspired, told they can achieve anything they set their minds to. — Jim Stynes
Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
Though it be a thrilling and marvellous thing to be merely young and gifted in such times, it is doubly so - doubly dynamic - to be young, gifted and black. — Lorraine Hansberry
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
Inspire yourself to be great. Being good isn't good enough. — Gurbaksh Chahal
Black History Inspirational Quotes
you must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right. — Rosa Parks
Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced. — James A. Baldwin
Every great dream begins with a dreamer. — Harriet Tubman
I knew when I met you an adventure is going to happen.
The United States has been called the melting pot of the world. But it seems to me that the colored man either missed getting into the pot or he got melted down. — Thurgood Marshall
Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations. — Mae Jemison
There is no negro problem. The problem is whether the American people have loyalty enough, honor enough, patriotism enough, to live up to their own constitution — Frederick Douglass
Just because my path is different doesn't mean I'm lost.
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
If we accept and acquiesce in the face of discrimination, we accept the responsibility ourselves. We should, therefore, protest openly everything ... that smacks of discrimination or slander. — Mary Mcleod Bethune
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
How are we going to get rid of racism? Stop talking about it! — Morgan Freeman
The potential for greatness lives within us all. — Wilma Rudolph
Defining myself, as opposed to being defined by others, is one of the most difficult challenges I face. — Carol Moseley Braun
I am America. I am the part you won't recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me. — Muhammad Ali
Fear has two meanings - Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise. The choice is yours.
We are the ones we've been waiting for. — June Jordan
we are the ones we have been waiting for — Alice Walker
I am the dream and the hope of the slave — Maya Angelou
I had no idea that history was being made. I was just tired of giving up. — Rosa Parks
African American History Month Quotes
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
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise. I rise. I rise. — Maya Angelou
You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man. — Frederick Douglass
Black people have always been America's wilderness in search of a promised land. — Cornel West
Racism is not an excuse to not do the best you can. — Arthur Ashe
American means white, and Africanist people struggle to make the term applicable to themselves with ethnicity and hyphen after hyphen after hyphen. — Toni Morrison
I am not tragically colored. There is no great sorrow dammed up in my soul, nor lurking behind my eyes. I do not mind at all. — Zora Neale Hurston
I refuse to accept the view . . . that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
It is my hope that as we commemorate Black History Month in the future, we will continue to celebrate the many achievements and rich culture of African-Americans. — Eliot Engel
Black Inspirational Quotes
Always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody says distract you from your goals. — Michelle Obama
Religion is like a blind man looking in a black room for a black cat that isn't there, and finding it. — Oscar Wilde
Clouds come floating into my life from other days no longer to shed rain or usher storm but to give colour to my sunset sky. — Rabindranath Tagore
It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it. — Nelson Mandela
It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared. — Whitney M. Young
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
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
Sometimes you have to let everything go - purge yourself. If you are unhappy with anything - whatever is bringing you down - get rid of it. Because you will find that when you are free, your true creativity, your true self comes out. — Tina Turner
We, as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves. — Barbara Jordan
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
Black Women Inspirational Quotes
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
I've always believed that I could do whatever I set my mind to do. — Alice Coachman
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
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
We accepted education as the means to rise above the limitations that a prejudiced society endeavored to place upon us. — Evelyn Boyd Granville
A wise man can play the part of a clown, but a clown can't play the part of a wise man. — Malcolm X
The world is a severe schoolmaster, for its frowns are less dangerous than its smiles and flatteries, and it is a difficult task to keep in the path of wisdom. — Phillis Wheatley
I felt that one had better die fighting against injustice than to die like a dog or rat in a trap. I had already determined to sell my life as dearly as possible if attacked. I felt if I could take one lyncher with me, this would even up the score a little bit. — Ida B. Wells
America will tolerate the taking of a human life without giving it a second thought. But don't misuse a household pet. — Dick Gregory
Ancient Egypt was a Negro Civilization. The history of Black Africa will remain suspended in air and cannot be written correctly until African historians dare to connect it with the history of Egypt. — Cheikh Anta Diop
It cannot be denied that too often the weight of the Christian movement has been on the side of the strong and the powerful and against the weak and oppressed-this, despite the gospel. — Howard Thurman
You know, I've never believed, in anything, that you had to have role models who looked like you to do something. If I'd been waiting for a black, female, soviet specialist role model, I'd be still waiting. — Condoleezza Rice
The impatient idealist says: 'Give me a place to stand and I shall move the earth.' But such a place does not exist. We all have to stand on the earth itself and go with her at her pace. — Chinua Achebe
Greatness occurs when your children love you, when your critics respect you and when you have peace of mind. — Quincy Jones
In the history of the treatment of depression, there was the dunking stool, purging of the bowels of black bile, hoses, attempts to shock the patient. All of these represent hatred or aggression towards what depression represents in the patient. — James Hillman
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
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
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
Look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
Knowing what must be done does away with fear. — Rosa Parks
History is the land-mark by which we are directed into the true course of life. — Marcus Garvey
What comes forth from you as an artist cannot be controlled. But you have responsibilities as a global citizen. Your history dictates your duty. And by writing about black people, you are not limiting yourself. The experiences of African-Americans are as wide open as God's closet. — August Wilson
There's no doubt that many of the mainstream white institutions tend to be cosmetic and symbolic when it comes to including African-Americans, whereas we black folk tend to be much more sensitive about embracing others, and we have a long history of that. — Cornel West
In the closing years of the nineteenth century, African-American historians began to look at their people's history from their vantage point and their point of view. — John Henrik Clarke
You face the biggest challenge of all: to have the courage to seek your big dream regardless of what anyone says. You are the only person alive who can see your big picture and even you can't see it all. — Oprah Winfrey
Inspirational History Quotes
The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done. — Marie Curie
Never limit yourself because of others' limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination. — Mae Jemison
The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing. — Voltaire
History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure. — Thurgood Marshall
The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history. — Carter G. Woodson
Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results. — Niccolo Machiavelli
Of the people, by the people, for the people. — Sun Yat-sen
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
People Writing About Black History Month Inspirational
For I am my mother's daughter, and the drums of Africa still beat in my heart. — Mary Mcleod Bethune
I pay homage and respect to Bobby Womack [for Black History Month] knowing that he passed last year... Him being one of those artists that I have really sampled so much and just been so inspired by... You know, he is the original ‘soul man.’ — Big K.R.I.T.
In all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress. — Booker T. Washington
I have observed this in my experience of slavery, that whenever my condition was improved, instead of increasing my contentment; it only increased my desire to be free, and set me thinking of plans to gain my freedom. — Frederick Douglass
In Conclusion
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