African American History Quotes

• What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice.

  Carter G. Woodson

  Religious, Hate, Race

  Carter G. Woodson (2008). “Negro Makers of History”, p.20, Wildside Press LLC

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• Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Kings, Hate, Light

  "A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love and Other Preachings".

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• I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person.

  Harriet Tubman

  Hands, Black History, African American

  "Harriet, The Moses of Her People". Book by Sarah H. Bradford, 1886.

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• Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet

  Sarah Louise Delany

  Inspirational, Life, Happiness

  Sarah Louise Delany, Annie Elizabeth Delany, Amy Hill Hearth (1993). “Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years”, p.214, Kodansha America

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  Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.

  Barack Obama

  Inspirational, Motivational, Change

  Barack Obama (2008). “An American Story: The Speeches of Barack Obama : a Primer”, Independent Publishing Group

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  The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself - the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us - that's where it's at.

  Jesse Owens

  Inspirational, Motivational, Running

  Biography/Personal Quotes, www.imdb.com.

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• Racism is not an excuse to not do the best you can.

  Arthur Ashe

  Racism, Black History, African American

  18 Copy quote

• Defining myself, as opposed to being defined by others, is one of the most difficult challenges I face.

  Carol Moseley Braun

  Inspiring, Being Yourself, Freedom

  82 Copy quote

• I was raised to believe that excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism. And that's how I operate my life.

  Oprah Winfrey

  Inspirational, Life, Motivational

  67 Copy quote
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  You can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation.

  Billie Holiday

  Hair, White, Black History

  Lady Sings the Blues ch. 11 (1956).

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• 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

  Inspirational, Dream, Hope

  Maya Angelou (2011). “Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems Celebrating Women”, p.9, Random House

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• The potential for greatness lives within us all.

  Wilma Rudolph

  Inspirational Sports, Athlete, Greatness

  "50 stunning Olympic moments No35: Wilma Rudolph's triple gold in 1960" by Rob Bagchi, www.theguardian.com. June 1, 2012.

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  Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Love, Inspirational, Life

  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2012). “A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love and Other Preachings”, p.67, Beacon Press

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• Where there is no vision, there is no hope.

  George Washington Carver

  Inspirational, Leadership, Hope

  339 Copy quote

• Knowing what must be done does away with fear.

  Rosa Parks

  Inspiring, Strong Women, Fear

  Rosa Parks, Gregory J. Reed (1994). “Quiet Strength: The Faith, the Hope, and the Heart of a Woman who Changed a Nation”, Zondervan

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• I am the dream and the hope of the slave

  Maya Angelou

  Dream, History, African American

  Maya Angelou (2011). “Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems Celebrating Women”, p.9, Random House

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• Hate is too great a burden to bear.

  Coretta Scott King

  Hater, Famous Love, Inspirational Love

  "Understanding Cultural Diversity in Today's Complex World‎" by Leo Parvis, (p. 54), 2006.

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• Black people have always been America's wilderness in search of a promised land.

  Cornel West

  Inspirational, America, Land

  Cornel West (2000). “Race Matters”, p.16, Beacon Press

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  I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying.

  Michael Jordan

  Inspirational, Motivational, Change

  "I Can't Accept Not Trying : Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence". Book by Michael Jordan (p. 129), 1994.

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  Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated.

  Coretta Scott King

  Inspirational, Inspiring, Forgiveness

  "Understanding Cultural Diversity in Today's Complex World". Book by Leo Parvis, p. 54, 2010.

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• For Africa to me... is more than a glamorous fact. It is a historical truth. No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place.

  Maya Angelou

  Inspirational, Truth, Men

  1972 On Africa. In the New York Times,16 Apr.

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• Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations.

  Mae Jemison

  Inspiring, People, Imagination

  264 Copy quote

• 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

  Peace, Responsibility, Racism

  401 Copy quote

• We are the ones we've been waiting for.

  June Jordan

  Change, Life Changing, Yes We Can

  June Jordan, “Poem For South African Women”

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• The time is always right to do what is right.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Inspirational, Positive, Inspiring

  "This Dallas Boy's MLK Jr. Speech Is Such A Sweet Message For Today's World" by Sarah Friedmann, www.bustle.com. January 2018.

  212 Copy quote

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