Black History Month Quotes - Page 3

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  In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.

  Thurgood Marshall

  Inspirational, Inspiring, Freedom

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• 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

  Hands, Kwanzaa, Black History

  "Papers: The Autobiographical Writings".

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• Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Change, Inspiring, Creativity

  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2013). “A Time to Break Silence: The Essential Works of Martin Luther King, Jr., for Students”, p.30, Beacon Press

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• 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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• Wherever there is a human being, I see God-given rights inherent in that being, whatever may be the sex or complexion.

  William Lloyd Garrison

  Sex, Rights, Diversity

  William Lloyd Garrison, Bruce Rogers (1905). “The Words of Garrison: A Centennial Selection (1805-1905) of Characteristic Sentiments from the Writings of William Lloyd Garrison”

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  How are we going to get rid of racism? Stop talking about it!

  Morgan Freeman

  Talking, Racism, Black Racism

  179 Copy quote

• Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.

  Robert Kennedy

  Inspirational, Motivational, Change

  Robert F. Kennedy (1998). “Make Gentle the Life of the World: The Vision of Robert F. Kennedy”, Harcourt

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• No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem.

  Booker T. Washington

  Inspirational, Work, Writing

  Address at Atlanta International Exposition, Atlanta, Ga., 18 Sept. 1895

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• I used to want the words 'She tried' on my tombstone. Now I want 'She did it.'

  Katherine Dunham

  Inspirational, Strength, Happiness

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• 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

  Inspirational, Thinking, Black History

  Frederick Douglass (2016). “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, p.160, Frederick Douglass

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• 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

  Dog, Fighting, Black History

  Ida B. Wells (2013). “Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells”, p.62, University of Chicago Press

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• Books were my pass to personal freedom.

  Oprah Winfrey

  Book, Reading, Personal Freedom

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• American means white, and Africanist people struggle to make the term applicable to themselves with ethnicity and hyphen after hyphen after hyphen.

  Toni Morrison

  Struggle, Mean, Ethnicity

  Toni Morrison (2007). “Playing in the Dark”, p.38, Vintage

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• I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man.

  Morgan Freeman

  Struggle, Men, White Man

  "Freeman calls Black History Month ‘ridiculous’". www.today.com. December 15, 2005.

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• I felt somehow for many years that George Washington and Alexander Hamilton just left me out by mistake. But through the process of amendment, interpretation, and court decision, I have finally been included in 'We, the people.'

  Barbara Jordan

  Mistake, Years, People

  Statement on the Articles of Impeachment, delivered 25 July 1974, House Judiciary Committee

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• 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)

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• To be a poor man is hard, but to be a poor race in a land of dollars is the very bottom of hardships.

  W. E. B. Du Bois

  Men, Race, Land

  The Souls of Black Folk ch. 1 (1903)

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• In this country American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate.

  Toni Morrison

  Inspirational, Country, Mean

  The Guardian, January 29, 1992.

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• 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

  Loyalty, People, Black History

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• Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.

  Colin Powell

  Inspirational, Military, Work

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• 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

  Struggle, Serious Things, Revolution

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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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• 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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• Black History Month is dedicated to heroes that paved the way for Black people. It's a month that's very imperative because it gives those who lack the knowledge of our heroes a chance to gain insight. It's not just about the month, it's about the years that it took for us to get to this one month and it's beyond placing a value on how much Black History Month really means to me.

  Alana Beard

  Hero, Mean, Years

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• Black History Month must be more than just a month of remembrance; it should be a tribute to our history and reminder of the work that lies in the months and years ahead.

  Marty Meehan

  Lying, Years, Remembrance

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