For over 40 years, Black History Month has taken over the month of February to honor some of the greatest minds in our country and world’s history. Though a month is certainly not enough time to commemorate all that the black people of the world have done for humanity, it serves as a great reminder to pause for a moment and reflect. To help you, we’ve rounded up 21 inspiring Black History Month quotes.
- “History has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.”
– Michelle Obama
- “The time is always right to do what is right.”
– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- “I’m very proud to be black, but black is not all I am. That’s my cultural historical background, my genetic makeup, but it’s not all of who I am no nor is it the basis from which I answer every question.”
– Denzel Washington
- “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.”
– Booker T. Washington
- “Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.”
– Dr. Mae Jemison
- “Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated.”
– Coretta Scott King
- “Identity is a prison you can never escape, but the way to redeem your past is not to run from it, but to try to understand it, and use it as a foundation to grow.”
– Jay Z
- “Have a vision. Be demanding.”
– Colin Powell
- “We all have dreams. In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort.”
– Jesse Owens
- “If everything was perfect, you would never learn and you would never grow.”
– Beyonce Knowles
- “If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life.”
– Marcus Garvey
- “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
– Frederick Douglass
- “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.”
– Langston Hughes
- “Surviving is important, thriving is elegant.”
– Maya Angelou
- “Never dull your shine for somebody else.”
– Tyra Banks
- “Whatever we believe about ourselves and our ability comes true for us.”
– Susan L. Taylor
- “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
– Nelson Mandela
- “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- “Eastward and westward storms are breaking, — great, ugly whirlwinds of hatred and blood and cruelty. I will not believe them inevitable.”
– W.E.B. Du Bois
- “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
- “I am America. I am the part you won’t recognize. But get used to me.”
– Muhammad Ali