21 Inspiring Black History Month Quotes
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.
Inspiring Black History Month Quotes
“History has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.”
1
Michelle Obama
“The time is always right to do what is right.”
2
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.”
3
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.”
4
Booker T. Washington
“Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.”
5
Dr. Mae Jemison
“Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated.”
6
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.”
7
Jay Z
“Have a vision. Be demanding.”
8
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.”
9
Jesse Owens
“If everything was perfect, you would never learn and you would never grow.”
10
Beyonce Knowles
“If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life.”
11
Marcus Garvey
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
12
Frederick Douglass
“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.”
13
Langston Hughes
“Surviving is important, thriving is elegant.”
14
Maya Angelou
“Never dull your shine for somebody else.”
15
Tyra Banks
“Whatever we believe about ourselves and our ability comes true for us.”
16
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.”
17
Nelson Mandela
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
18
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.”
19
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.”
20
Oprah Winfrey
“I am America. I am the part you won’t recognize. But get used to me.”
21
