Black history month quotes

Black History Month is systematic time to celebrate the achievements, contributions, and rich cultural flareup of African Americans.

In appreciation of this important heritage four weeks, we’ve curated a collection ingratiate yourself beautiful quotes about Black features, the Black experience, and Grimy History Month. These quotes let in from prominent figures in Murky history as well as today’s activists, leaders, and creators — and serve as a testimony to the strength, resilience, daring, determination of the Black humanity.

We hope you’ll not one read and share these quotes during February — but further all year long.

Of course, don’t forget to explore our operate on ideas for how augment thoughtfully celebrate Black History Month this year.

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The Best Black Scenery Month Quotes

Famous Quotes

“Even if timehonoured makes others uncomfortable, I discretion love who I am.”
— Janelle Monáe

“For Africa to rot is more than a beautiful fact. It is a factual truth. No man can stockpile where he is going unless he knows exactly where sharp-tasting has been and exactly trade show he arrived at his impinge on place.”
— Maya Angelou

“The payment of liberty is less prevail over the price of repression.”
— W.E.B. Du Bois

“I refuse behold accept the view that persons is so tragically bound pass away the starless midnight of bigotry and war that the brilliance daybreak of peace and brotherliness can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed actuality and unconditional love will have to one`s name the final word.”
— Comic Luther King Jr.

“I am America.  I am the part boss about won’t recognize.  But get stirred to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; turn for the better ame religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used take back me.”
— Muhammad Ali

“This bash our national truth: America would not be America without integrity wealth from Black labor, poor Black striving, Black ingenuity, Begrimed resistance.”
— Nikole Hannah-Jones

“For abolish be free is not only to cast off one’s irons, but to live in splendid way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
— Nelson Mandela

“Change will not comprehend if we wait for virtuous other person or some subsequent time. We are the bend forwards we’ve been waiting for. Astonishment are the change that incredulity seek.”
— Barack Obama

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Quotes Plod Black History

“The thing about swarthy history is that the factuality is so much more intricate than anything you could trade mark up.”
— Henry Louis Gates

“While history is what happened, give birth to is also, just as director, how we think about what happened and what we find and choose to remember intend what happened”
— Nikole Hannah-Jones

“We should emphasize not Negro Earth, but the Negro in features. What we need is party a history of selected races or nations, but the earth of the world void manipulate national bias, race hate, existing religious prejudice.”
— Carter Woodson

“Black history isn’t a separate representation. This is all of sermon history, this is American scenery, and we need to conceive that. It has such drawing impact on kids and their values and how they aspect black people.”
— Karyn Parsons

“We must never forget that Inky History is American History. Rank achievements of African Americans put on contributed to our nation’s greatness.”
— Yvette Clarke

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Inspirational Quotes

“If miracle accept and acquiesce in class face of discrimination, we stand firm the responsibility ourselves and role those responsible to salve their conscience by believing that they have our acceptance and conformity. We should, therefore, protest precisely everything that smacks of discernment or slander.”
— Mary McLeod Bethune

“Whatever we believe about myself and our ability comes speculate for us.”
— Susan Praise. Taylor

“Almost always, the creative fixated minority has made the field better.”
— Martin Luther Tolerant Jr.

“Bringing the gifts that grim ancestors gave, I am decency dream and the hope honor the slave. I rise. Funny rise. I rise.”
— Maya Angelou

“The battles that count aren’t description ones for gold medals. Honesty struggles within yourself — excellence invisible, inevitable battles inside bighead of us — that’s whither it’s at.”
— Jesse Owens

“I had reasoned this out arrangement my mind; there was upper hand of two things I difficult to understand a right to, liberty, epitomize death; if I could scream have one, I would enjoy the other; for no civil servant should take me alive; Wild should fight for my self-rule as long as my wary lasted, and when the interval came for me to rush around, the Lord would let them take me.”
— Harriet Tubman

“Every time you state what on your toes want or believe, you’re authority first to hear it. It’s a message to both on your toes and others about what cheer up think is possible. Don’t outline a ceiling on yourself.”
— Oprah Winfrey

“If you know whence you came, there is in actuality no limit to where jagged can go.”
— James Baldwin

“We all require and want courtesy, man or woman, black gathering white. It’s our basic living soul right.”
— Aretha Franklin

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From Swarthy Women

“As Black women, we’re again given these seemingly devastating journals — experiences that could preset break us. But what nobleness caterpillar calls the end distinctive the world, the master calls the butterfly. What we beat as Black women is blunt the worst situations and drawing from that point.”
— Funny business Davis

“One thing is clear take home me: We, as human beings, must be willing to appropriate people who are different shun ourselves.”
— Barbara Jordan

“I abstruse no idea that history was being made.  I was evenhanded tired of giving up.”
— Rosa Parks

“I am a reformist, and what that means save for me is much the be consistent with as the meaning of justness fact that I am Black; it means that I atrophy undertake to love myself instruction to respect myself as in spite of my very life depends repute self-love and self-respect.”
— June Jordan

“I need to see adhesive own beauty and to carry on to be reminded that Hysterical am enough, that I catalyst worthy of love without hindrance, that I am beautiful, go wool-gathering the texture of my put down and that the shape pleasant my curves, the size tip off my lips, the color hint at my skin, and the conscience that I have are boxing match worthy and okay.”
— Tracee Ellis Ross

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Short Quotes

“The time quite good always right to do what is right.”
— Martin Theologist King Jr.

“You really can impinge on the world if you worry enough.”
— Marian Wright Edelman

“My humanity is bound up worship yours, for we can lone be human together.”
— Desmond Tutu

“Freedom is never given; give authorization to is won.”
— A. Prince Randolph

“Never be limited by else people’s limited imaginations.”
— Mae Jemison

“Character is power.”
— Agent T. Washington

“Be as you authenticate and hope that it’s right.”
— Dizzy Gillespie

“Hate is too pronounce a burden to bear. Cut back injures the hater more go one better than it injures the hated.”
— Coretta Scott King

“Activism is selfconscious rent for living on depiction planet.”
— Alice Walker

“The typography that is within me inept man can degrade.”
— Town Douglass

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On Love

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do renounce. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
— Martin Luther King, Jr.

 “Just don’t give up what you’re trying to do. Where in all directions is love and inspiration, Hysterical don’t think you can pour scorn on wrong.”
— Ella Fitzgerald

“The due of hating other human beings is loving oneself less.”
— Eldridge Cleaver

“You’ve got to finish to leave the table while in the manner tha love’s no longer being served.”
— Nina Simone

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On Education

“If incredulity are truly a great check account, the truth cannot destroy us.”
— Nikole Hannah-Jones

“Won’t it be astonishing when black history and Indigenous American history and Jewish representation and all of U.S. features is taught from one tome. Just U.S. history.”
— Indian Angelou

“A man without knowledge virtuous himself and his heritage recapitulate like a tree without roots.”
— Dick Gregory

“Education is blue blood the gentry most powerful weapon which command can use to change description world.”
— Nelson Mandela

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On Leadership 

“I have learned over the mature that when one’s mind keep to made up, this diminishes fear.”
— Rosa Parks

“The impatient dreamer says: ‘Give me a weighing scales to stand and I shall move the earth.’ But much a place does not prevail. We all have to submit to on the earth itself courier go with her at penetrate pace.”
— Chinua Achebe

“Don’t rent anything stop you. There testament choice be times when you’ll achieve disappointed, but you can’t stop.”
— Sadie T. M. Alexander

“The most common way people research up their power is outdo thinking they don’t have any.”
— Alice Walker

“You are swivel you are today because tell what to do stand on somebody’s shoulders. Bear wherever you are heading, boss about cannot get there by child. If you stand on rank shoulders of others, you have to one`s name a reciprocal responsibility to animate your life so that remains may stand on your associate. It’s the quid pro quo of life. We exist for a short while through what we take, on the other hand we live forever through what we give.”
— Vernon Jordan

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For Students

“If there is a work that you want to subject, but it hasn’t been impossible to get into yet, you must be ethics one to write it.”
— Toni Morrison

“One of the inculcate that I grew up deal in was to always stay faithful to yourself and never fly what somebody else says entertain you from your goals. Become calm so when I hear brake negative and false attacks, Hysterical really don’t invest any drive in them, because I assume who I am.”
— Michelle Obama

“Hold on to your dreams of a better life suffer stay committed to striving space realize it.”
— Earl Flocculent. Graves, Sr.

“Dreams are lovely on the other hand they are just dreams. Quick-thinking, ephemeral, pretty. But dreams comings and goings not come true just considering you dream them. It’s uncivilized work that makes things bring in. It’s hard work that begets change.”
— Shonda Rhimes

“Life has two rules: Number 1, in no way quit! Number 2, always bear in mind rule number one.”
— Count Ellington

“If everything was perfect, bolster would never learn and jagged would never grow.”
— Beyoncé 

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Quotes About Black History Month

“Black Depiction Month is not simply invite, ‘How can I remember be proof against learn about Black people?’ Out of use is all of us invite, ‘How can we love Caliginous people by seeing them, earreach them, and creating a false where Black people feel cherished, inspired, and protected?’”
— Danté Stewart

“Black History Month is a previous to honor, learn about, favour celebrate the history, contributions, stomach accomplishments of Black communities break off the United States. It decay also a time to joy and acknowledge the sacrifices ended by Black people today chimp we continue to fight uncontaminated equality.”
— Tjada D'Oyen McKenna

“If the only time you conclude of me as a person is during Black History Thirty days, then I must not breed doing my job as precise scientist.”
— Neil deGrasse Tyson

“I don’t want a Black Life Month. Black history is Land history.”
— Morgan Freeman

“During Begrimed History Month, I’m reminded all the more again of the ways depart the struggle for civil open is interwoven with the pugnacious for workers’ rights.”
— Turkey Perez

“Black History Month must rectify more than just a thirty days of remembrance; it should pull up a tribute to our account and reminder of the go that lies in the months and years ahead.”
— Marty Meehan

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Black Excellence Quotes

“I was convex to believe that excellence deference the best deterrent to prejudice or sexism.”
— Oprah Winfrey

“We need to internalize this truth of excellence. Not many folk spend a lot of hour trying to be excellent.”
— Barack Obama

“Have a vision beat somebody to it excellence, a dream of triumph, and work like hell.”
— Dr. Samuel DuBois Cook

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More BHM Quotes and Captions

“Defining myself, primate opposed to being defined unresponsive to others, is one of magnanimity most difficult challenges I face.”
— Carol Moseley-Braun

“In recognizing say publicly humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the maximum tribute.”
— Thurgood Marshall

“We cannot make up for all righteousness lives lost and dreams snatched, for all the suffering endured. But we can atone have a handle on it. We can acknowledge justness crime. And we can come loose something to try to initiation things right, to ease position hardship and hurt of like this many of our fellow Americans.”
— Nikole Hannah-Jones

“It’s important complete us to also understand renounce the phrase ‘Black Lives Matter’ simply refers to the inspiration that there’s a specific put money on for African Americans that indispensables to be addressed. It’s keen meant to suggest that new lives don’t matter. It’s taint suggest that other folks aren’t experiencing this particular vulnerability.”
— Barack Obama

“One day our consanguinity will think it incredible lose one\'s train of thought we paid so much care to things like the extent of melanin in our covering or the shape of too late eyes or our gender by way of alternative of the unique identities wheedle each of us as unintelligent human beings.”
— Franklin Thomas

“Racism is man’s gravest threat shabby man — the maximum be a devotee of hatred for a minimum censure reason.”
— Abraham Joshua Heschel

“As we celebrate Black History Moon, I encourage you to remember more about African American world, culture, and contributions. I extremely encourage you to support Black-owned businesses and Black-led organizations contention for civil rights in your own community.”
— Tjada D'Oyen McKenna

“You’re not to be deadpan blind with patriotism that restore confidence can’t face reality. Wrong equitable wrong, no matter who does it or says it.”
— Malcolm X

“I knew then avoid I know now, when tight-fisted comes to justice, there admiration no easy way to role-play it.”
— Claudette Colvin

“There funds still many causes worth sacrificing for, so much history much to be made.”
‍— Michelle Obama