African American Inspirational Quotes

Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.

Wilma Rudolph

Inspirational, Motivational, Running

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

243 Copy quote

Show source
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

1268 Copy quote

Show source
I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed.

Booker T. Washington

Inspirational, Life, Success

Booker T. Washington (1901). “An Autobiography: The Story of My Life and Work, the Original Brought Up-to-date with Over Half a Hundred Full Page Photo and Halftone Engravings and Drawings by Frank Beard”

407 Copy quote

Show source
The 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.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Inspirational, Life, Motivational

Strength to Love (1963) ch. 3

1388 Copy quote

Show source
We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.

Maya Angelou

Inspirational, Change, Inspiring

FaceBook post by Maya Angelou from May 15, 2013

209 Copy quote

Show source
Every great dream begins with a dreamer.

Harriet Tubman

Inspiring, Dream, Passion

593 Copy quote
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

1175 Copy quote

Show source
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.

244 Copy quote

Show source
You're not obligated to win. You're obligated to keep trying to do the best you can every day.

Marian Wright Edelman

Inspiring, Happiness, Success

96 Copy quote
Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations.

Mae Jemison

Inspiring, People, Imagination

264 Copy quote
If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.

Maya Angelou

Inspirational, Motivational, Change

Twitter post from Jan 15, 2017

480 Copy quote

Show source
Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.

Langston Hughes

Love, Inspirational, Change

"Dreams" l. 1 (1929)

546 Copy quote

Show source
I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.

Rosa Parks

Inspirational, Positive, Inspiring

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

196 Copy quote

Show source
Where there is no vision, there is no hope.

George Washington Carver

Inspirational, Leadership, Hope

339 Copy quote
It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it.

Lou Holtz

Inspirational, Sports, Attitude

61 Copy quote
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.

101 Copy quote

Show source
Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.

Oprah Winfrey

Inspirational, Positive, Happiness

"Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

135 Copy quote

Show source
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.

193 Copy quote

Show source
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.

264 Copy quote

Show source
I really don't think life is about the I-could-have-beens. Life is only about the I-tried-to-do. I don't mind the failure but I can't imagine that I'd forgive myself if I didn't try.

Nikki Giovanni

Inspirational, Life, Inspiring

Nikki Giovanni (1988). “Sacred cows-- and other edibles”, William Morrow & Co

55 Copy quote

Show source
You're either part of the solution or you're part of the problem.

Eldridge Cleaver

Life, Idaho, Black History

Speech to San Francisco Barristers' Club, San Francisco, Cal., Sept. 1968.

70 Copy quote

Show source
I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.

Michael Jordan

Inspirational, Life, Motivational

"Nike Culture : The Sign of the Swoosh". Book by Robert Goldman, Stephen Papson (p. 49), 1998.

243 Copy quote

Show source
We are the ones we've been waiting for.

June Jordan

Change, Life Changing, Yes We Can

June Jordan, “Poem For South African Women”

74 Copy quote

Show source
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

29 Copy quote

Show source
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