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African American Quotes

1.
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 ever part ways with someone precious to you, never utter the words "They're gone," and they shall return.'
Authors on African American Quotes: Donald Trump Barack Obama Henry Louis Gates Rush Limbaugh Julianne Malveaux Michael Emerson Marcus Garvey Maya Angelou Marian Wright Edelman Ta-Nehisi Coates Michael Eric Dyson James A. Baldwin James Brown Jordan Peele Zora Neale Hurston Rand Paul Mara Liasson Bernie Sanders Michelle Alexander Booker T. Washington J. C. Watts Carter G. Woodson Martin Luther King, Jr. Xavier Becerra Nikki Giovanni Stanley Crouch Herman Cain Judith Jamison John Conyers Nina Turner Bobby Jindal Terry Crews Octavia Spencer
2.
The thing to do is to get organized; keep separated and you will be exploited, you will be robbed, you will be killed. Get organized and you will compel the world to respect you.
Marcus Garvey

Unify yourselves; stay divided and you will be taken advantage of, plundered, and annihilated. Unite and you will demand the world to revere you.
3.
If you can be the best, then why not try to be the best?
Garrett Morgan

Strive to be the apex.
4.
We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.
Angela Davis

We must address emancipating minds in tandem with liberating society.
5.
No individual has any right to come into the world and go out of it without leaving behind him distinct and legitimate reasons for having passed through it.
George Washington Carver

Every person should strive to make their mark in life, leaving behind a lasting legacy of their passage on this earth.
6.
There must always be a remedy for wrong and injustice if we only know how to find it.
Ida B. Wells

There must always be a solution for wrong and injustice if we only recognize how to uncover it.
7.
Never wound a snake; kill it.
Harriet Tubman

Eliminate the serpent; do not maim it.
8.
Religion without humanity is very poor human stuff.
Sojourner Truth

Religion without benevolence is extremely inadequate human behavior.
9.
You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.
Shirley Chisholm

'You don't advance by being a passive observer, whining and grumbling. You make headway by putting plans into action.'
10.
It is extremely rough to follow through with my goals, but I felt a responsibility to show the world what the African Americans are facing through this rough patch.
Ida B. Wells

It is tremendously arduous to execute my ambitions, but I was duty-bound to demonstrate the struggles of African Americans amid this strenuous period.
11.
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

12.
If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.
Carter G. Woodson

If a people lack a legacy, without meaningful customs, they become insignificant in the eyes of others and risk annihilation.
13.
I saw that the camera could be a weapon against poverty, against racism, against all sorts of social wrongs. I knew at that point I had to have a camera.
Gordon Parks

I perceived that the lens could be a tool to combat destitution, against prejudice, against a range of social injustices. At that moment I was determined to acquire a photographic device.
14.
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

It is more beneficial to have foresight for a chance and not get it than to receive a chance and not be ready.
15.
Somebody once said we never know what is enough until we know what's more than enough.
Billie Holiday

Someone once proclaimed that we can never grasp our limits until we surpass them.
16.
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

If we summon the same bravery and perseverance that our ancestors possessed, who defiantly resisted against the tyranny of enslavement, we shall discover a method to emulate their accomplishments in our own era.
17.
One of the things that has to be faced is the process of waiting to change the system, how much we have got to do to find out who we are, where we have come from and where we are going.
Ella Baker

We must confront the patience required to alter the structure, the effort we must put forth to familiarize ourselves with our identity, origin and purpose.
18.
Don't let the same dog bite you twice.
Chuck Berry

"Don't give a second chance to the same mistake."
19.
I early conceived a liking for, and sought every opportunity to relieve the sufferings of others.
Rebecca Lee Crumpler

20.
The colour of the skin is in no way connected with strength of the mind or intellectual powers.
Benjamin Banneker

21.
Ain't no sense worryin' about the things you got control over, 'cause if you got control over 'em, ain't no sense worryin'. And ain't no sense worryin' about the things you don't got control over, 'cause if you don't got control over 'em, ain't no sense worryin'.
Mickey Rivers

22.
You just need to be a flea against injustice. Enough committed fleas biting strategically can make even the biggest dog uncomfortable and transform even the biggest nation.
Marian Wright Edelman

23.
I'm not going to sit at your table and watch you eat, with nothing on my plate, and call myself a diner. Sitting at the table doesn't make you a diner.
Malcolm X

24.
There's not an American in this country free until every one of us is free.
Jackie Robinson

25.
Differences can be a strength.
Condoleezza Rice

26.
What you do to-day that is worthwhile, inspires others to act at some future time.
Marcus Garvey

27.
Don't take yourself too seriously. Know when to laugh at yourself, and find a way to laugh at obstacles that inevitably present themselves.
Halle Berry

28.
Living consciously involves being genuine; it involves listening and responding to others honestly and openly; it involves being in the moment.
Sidney Poitier

29.
What they call you is one thing. What you answer to is something else.
Lucille Clifton

30.
The possible has been tried and failed. Now it's time to try the impossible.
Sun Ra

31.
There are more African Americans under correctional control, in prison or jail, on probation or parole, than were enslaved in 1850 a decade before the civil war began.
Michelle Alexander

32.
Stop using the word 'Negro.' The word is a misnomer from every point of view. It does not represent a country or anything else ... I am an African-American.
Mary Church Terrell

33.
When I was born, I was colored. I soon became a Negro. Not long after that I was black. Most recently I was African-American. It seems we're on a roll here. But I am still first and foremost in search of freedom.
Harry Belafonte

34.
I have this ability to find this hidden talent in people that sometimes even they didn't know they had.
Berry Gordy

35.
Nothing came easy. I was just born with a need to explore every part of my mind. And with long searching and hard work, I became devoted to my restlessness.
Gordon Parks

36.
I knew well that the only way I could get that door open was to knock it down; because I knocked all of them down.
Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander

37.
The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible
Toni Cade Bambara

38.
Whether you come from a council estate or a country estate, your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude.
Michelle Obama

39.
Your wealth can be stolen, but the precious riches buried deep in your soul cannot.
Minnie Riperton

40.
They throw the ball, I hit it. They hit the ball, I catch it.
Willie Mays

41.
One of the greatest pleasures of my life has been that I have never stopped learning about Good Cooking and Good Food
Edna Lewis

42.
Black painters have done all kinds of work. It's the treatment of forms they engage in-that's what determines the value of the work, not whether you call them a black artist or not.
Kerry James Marshall

43.
There's a category for me. I like to be referred to as a good singer of good songs in good taste.
Sarah Vaughan

44.
Presumption should never make us neglect that which appears easy to us, nor despair make us lose courage at the sight of difficulties.
Benjamin Banneker

45.
I believe in individuality, that everybody is special, and it's up to them to find that quality and let it live.
Grace Jones

46.
A goal without a plan is a wish.
Herman Edwards

47.
Regardless of what you play, the biggest thing is keeping the feel going.
Wes Montgomery

48.
I don't know what the future may hold, but I know who holds the future.
Ralph Abernathy

49.
It appears that my worst fears have been realised: we have made progress in everything yet nothing has changed.
Derrick Bell

50.
When you hear music, after it's over, it's gone, in the air. You can never capture it again.
Eric Dolphy