African American Women Quotes - Page 2

• You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.

  Frederick Douglass

  Men, Black History, African American

  Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass ch. 10 (1845)

  24 Copy quote

  Show source

• You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.

  Viola Davis

  Winning, Roles, Actresses

  "Zendaya Posts Beautiful Thank You to Viola Davis After Her History-Making Emmy Win" by Noelle Devo, www.seventeen.com. September 21, 2015.

  7 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

  54 Copy quote

  Show source

• The only thing that separates women of color from everyone else is opportunity.

  Viola Davis

  Badass, Opportunity, Color

  "The 10 Best Emmy Moments for Women Last Night" by Inkoo Kang, www.indiewire.com. September 21, 2015.

  25 Copy quote

  Show source

• I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.

  Fannie Lou Hamer

  Recovery, Tired, Health

  "'I Question America' — Remembering Fannie Lou Hamer’s Famous Speech 50 Years Ago" by Peter Dreier, www.huffingtonpost.com. August 26, 2014.

  350 Copy quote

  Show source

• I do not weep at the world I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife.

  Zora Neale Hurston

  Oysters, Knives, Black History

  World Tomorrow "How It Feels to Be Colored Me" (1928)

  29 Copy quote

  Show source

• I am a feminist, and what that means to me is much the same as the meaning of the fact that I am Black: it means that I must undertake to love myself and to respect myself as though my very life depends upon self-love and self-respect.

  June Jordan

  Life, Happiness, Success

  1978 Address to Black Writers Conference, Howard University. Collected as 'Where Is the Love?' in Moving Towards Home (1989).

  21 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.

  235 Copy quote

  Show source

• Excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism.

  Oprah Winfrey

  Success, Dream, Xenophobia

  Twitter post from Aug 14, 2011

  14 Copy quote

  Show source

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

  Mae Jemison

  Inspiring, People, Imagination

  263 Copy quote

• 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.

  45 Copy quote

  Show source

• Give light, and people will find the way...

  Ella Baker

  Happiness, Success, Uplifting

  "Song: Give Light". 1999.

  303 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

  191 Copy quote

  Show source

• We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.

  Maya Angelou

  Color, Kwanzaa, Common Threads

  124 Copy quote
• 

  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

  1243 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”

  402 Copy quote

  Show source

• It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.

  Maya Angelou

  Strength, Educational, Teaching

  Twitter post from Jul 13, 2016

  74 Copy quote

  Show source
• 

  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

  1142 Copy quote

  Show source

• African-American women account for 67 percent of all newly diagnosed female AIDS cases.

  Elijah Cummings

  African American, Female, Aids

  7 Copy quote

• Since Bush has been in office, African-American women have fallen behind in terms of income and wages.

  Donna Brazile

  Office, African American, Income

  9 Copy quote

• Design the life you want to live.

  Rachel Roy

  Inspirational, Positive, Design

  "Fashion Designer Rachel Roy". "Tavis Smiley Show", www.pbs.org. March 22, 2016.

  18 Copy quote

  Show source

• I think the bottom of the totem pole is African-American women, or women of colour. I think they get the least opportunities in Hollywood.

  Denzel Washington

  Women, Opportunity, Thinking

  The Guardian Interview, www.theguardian.com. February 23, 2000.

  8 Copy quote

  Show source

• People identify with me - everyone does - African American women, Caucasian women, they all identify with me because I'm ethnic.

  Janice Dickinson

  People, African American, Doe

  7 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

• It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it.

  Lou Holtz

  Inspirational, Sports, Attitude

  57 Copy quote