Best African American Quotes | Short & Famous Sayings Page 15

“History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”

Source: The Wisdom of Martin Luther King, Jr

“Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.”

Source: The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.:

“A man can't ride your back unless it's bent.”

Men Wisdom Words Of Wisdom African American Thrive Bent

Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”

Source: The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.:

“If we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover these precious values - that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all reality has spiritual control.”

Ifs Reality Spiritual Values Moral Words Of Wisdom Foundation Civil Rights African American Hinges Moral Values Moral Life Rediscovery Moral Education

Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.

“It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important.”

“If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live.”

Source: The Wisdom of Martin Luther King, Jr

“A right delayed is a right denied.”

Inspirational Political Politics Rights Words Of Wisdom Refuse Civil Rights African American Denial Rejection Rejects Denied Delay Refusal Delayed

Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.

“A riot is the language of the unheard.”

Inspirational Language Kings African American Rebellion Riot Unheard Good Kings Peaceful Protest Rioting Race Riots

Book:MLK on

Source: MLK on

“An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.”

“The fact is, yes, statistically, African Americans and Latinos are getting hit harder, but it`s something that we can have real solidarity across racial lines on, to raise the minimum wage, to lower the cost of going to college, to make sure there`s real consumer protection.”

Real College Protection African American Solidarity Latino Going To College

Author:Keith Ellison

“You take for example the environmental movement is a big deal in my district. You know, you might say, yeah, more African Americans are suffering from asthma and air pollution-related illnesses, but there`s a lot of white folks, a lot of white kids with inhalers. So, you just got to talk to the reality of everyone, not exclude anyone. And make sure that people know that you care about them too. I think if you do that, we can get there.”

People Thinking Reality Care Kids Suffering Environmental Illness African American Asthma Air Pollution

Author:Keith Ellison

“The War on Drugs is a war on people, but particularly it's been a war on low-income people and a war on minorities. We know in the United States of America there is no difference in drug use between black, white and Latinos. But if you're Latino in the United States of America, you're about twice as likely to be arrested for drug use than if you're white. If you're black, you are about four times as likely to be arrested if you're African American than if you are white. This drug war has done so much to destroy, undermine, sabotage families, communities, neighborhoods, cities.”

People War Done Black Community Drug African American Neighborhood Latino War On Drugs Sabotage

Author:Cory Booker

“We started America with the sin of slavery that led right into the post-reconstruction period which was the greatest period of domestic terrorism in our country's history. Then after that, we had Jim Crow emerge and just when the Jim Crow laws were ending came the onslaught of the drug war. Well, the drug war has so perniciously effected, insidiously infected communities of color that in some ways it has come full circle, and we now have more African Americans under criminal supervision than all of the slaves in 1865. This is a profoundly unjust war.”

War Community Sin Drug Slavery Slave Terrorism African American Crow War On Drugs Jim Crow Supervision

Author:Cory Booker

“Just as if you do a mash-up of reality from the point of view of African Americans in this country, you're going to end up with something that will say, "This is Black Lives Matter." It's not that people necessarily have started out from that premise. But if you're looking at reality, that will be the result because that is reality.”

People Country Reality Black Point Of View African American

Author:Margaret Atwood

“African Americans are doing a lot already, but I think we have an opportunity right now to change politics in a way that will result in substantial help for people in need during the economic crisis. And then as the economy recovers, we can see dramatic progress against hunger and poverty.”

People Thinking Helping Opportunity Poverty Economy Progress Economic Crisis Hunger African American Dramatic

Author:David Beckmann

“We live in a very powerful country that has worldwide impact. It really is a democracy, so it puts a call to the faithful to get off the couch, right now! I hope we don't have one in three African American kids hungry 10 years from now. There is no reason for that. Forget everything else. We know how to feed kids. We can feed kids without distorting incentives and stuff.”

Country Reason Kids Forget Powerful Democracy Hungry African American Faithful Very Powerful

Author:David Beckmann

“My mom is Jamaican and Chinese, and my dad is Polish and African American, so I'm pretty mixed. My nickname in high school was United Nations. I was fine with it, even though I identify as a black woman. People don't realize it hurts my feelings when someone looks at my hair or my eyes, and says, "But you're not actually black. You're black, but you're not black black, because your eyes are green." I'm like, "What? No, no, I'm definitely black." Even some of my closest friends have said that. It's been a bit touchy for me.”

People Feelings Eye School Black Realizing Hurt Mom Dad High School My Dad My Mom African American Chinese It Hurts Black Women United Nations

Author:Ayesha Curry

“Blackness is not simply a reactionary title or identity; that is indeed the "negative" way of characterizing African American identity.”

Identity Negative African American

Author:Michael Eric Dyson

“Blackness also has positive dimensions, those that bear the political meanings of African American people, among other blacks, who have struggled for self-determination and freedom for centuries. The absence of such an identity doesn't automatically guarantee that we will be free of the images and ideals that fuel stereotypes about black identity. Changing the name will not alter the reality.”

People Reality Political Black Identity Absence African American Stereotype

Author:Michael Eric Dyson

“Ironically, there is a history of black/Irish communion here in the states; Irish and African American brothers and sisters have often found common cause in fighting the bigotry both communities faced earlier in the 20th century. However, white skin privilege among the Irish separated them from blacks, who had no such advantage to fall back upon. The solution is to fight bigotry and racism wherever they appear, and to root out the forces of oppression as conscientiously as possible.”

Fall Fighting Black Community Common Brother Racism Solutions Skins Oppression African American Bigotry Communion 20th Century Brothers And Sisters Fall Back

Author:Michael Eric Dyson

“Too often the media assumes that "poverty" is an African American or a Latino issue. Of course, that's nonsense. While a higher percentage of the African American and Latino population does live in poverty as compared to the white population, when overall numbers are looked at, it is clear that people of all races, ethnicities, and colors, are represented amongst America's poor.”

People Poor Poverty Assuming African American Nonsense Latino

Author:Sasha Abramsky

“Despite all of the civil rights gains of the past several decades, when it comes to economic opportunity, African Americans and Latinos still experience far more unemployment than do whites and Asians, average wages are lower, and household wealth is lower. A smaller percentage of African Americans and Latinos attend, and complete, college, than is the case with whites and Asians, and a higher percentage end up in prison. All of these are indicators of massive disparities in opportunity, and these disparities are mirrored in poverty data.”

Past Opportunity Wealth Poverty Economic College Prison Civil Rights African American Latino

Author:Sasha Abramsky

“Jim Jones started out as a civil rights crusader in Indianapolis. As a young preacher in the mid-50s, he used members of his congregation to integrate lunch counters and all-white churches in rich neighborhoods; they'd just march in and sit down at the pews and see what happened. Often they were received with racist insults, and once with a bomb threat. But the fact that you had this charismatic, white man, aggressively promoting racial equality, was a huge draw for African Americans, many of whom felt the Civil Rights Movement had stalled by the late 60s.”

Men Church Rich Threat Civil Rights African American Insult Neighborhood Racist March Preacher Civil Rights Movement Integrating Charismatic

Author:Julia Scheeres

“Food historian Jessica B. Harris says African American cuisine is simply what black people ate. When I think about what my family ate, we ate what people think of as soul food on special occasions, on holidays, but our typical diet was leafy greens and nutrients and tubers - food that was as fresh as being harvested right before our meal. Whatever was in season, that's what we were eating. It was being harvested right from our backyard.”

People Thinking Soul Black Special Eating My Family African American Holiday Historian Black People Special Occasion

Author:Bryant Terry

“In terms of addressing some of the most impacted communities and historically excluded communities - often of color, often low income - there is this adage in specifically African American communities that on every corner in low income neighborhoods you'll find a liquor store.”

Term Community African American Neighborhood Liquor

Author:Bryant Terry

“The U.S. has the largest prison population in the world: two million people. One out of every eight prisoners in the world is an African American. We are warehousing people as a profit to shareholders or for benefits to communities that get to host federal prisons. It is modern slavery. The whole future of America's black community is at risk. One out of every three young black men in Washington, D.C., is under one arm or the other of the criminal justice system. These are the continuing consequences of slavery.”

People Men World Black Community Justice Risk Modern Consequence Slavery Prison African American Prisoner Host Justice System Criminal Justice

Author:Randall Robinson

“Books are an attempt to control something that's uncontrollable. That's one of the beauties of African American life. There was this thing called slavery and adjustments were made. It literally destroyed millions, but it didn't destroy the inner lives of all the people who experienced it. There are still horrible things that go on because of the myth of race, but we don't have to succumb totally. If I had only a negative side of things to present, I think I would have much less of a drive to do it. Because what would be the point?”

People Thinking Book Negative Slavery Myth Horrible African American

Author:John Edgar Wideman

“Are things getting better with each generation? Yes. It's quite interesting to be living in these times, for me to witness an African-American being elected president. It's quite extraordinary.”

President Interesting Generations Extraordinary Witness African American Get Better

Author:Lenny Kravitz

“Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up.”

“The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose.”

Men Life Happiness Success Loses Attitude Society Dangerous Creation African American Dangerous Things Nothing To Lose Dangerous Man

Author:James A. Baldwin

“I am what time, circumstance, history, have made of me, certainly, but I am also, much more than that. So are we all.”

Made Circumstances African American Philanthropy

Author:James A. Baldwin

“Hatred, which could destroy so much, never failed to destroy the man who hated, and this was an immutable law.”

Men Law Hate Literature Hatred Social Justice African American Hated Native Son

Author:James A. Baldwin

“To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.”

Country Literature Conscious Rage African American

Author:James A. Baldwin

“To be sensual, I think, is to respect and rejoice in the force of life, of life itself, and to be present in all that one does, from the effort of loving to the breaking of bread.”

Thinking Doe Force Effort Respect Bread Sensuality Sensual African American Rejoice

Author:James A. Baldwin

“I was taught from a young age that many people would treat me as a second-class citizen because I was African-American and because I was female.”

People Age Young Class Taught Citizens Female Treats African American Young Age Second Class Citizens

Author:Queen Latifah

“I'd like to state that Spike Lee is not saying that African American culture is just for black people alone to enjoy and cherish. Culture is for everybody.”

People States Culture Enjoy Black African American Cherish Black People American Culture African American Culture

Author:Spike Lee

“Barack Obama happens to be the first African-American, and so criticism of him is and always was gonna be racism, and therefore not permitted.”

Firsts Happens Racism Criticism Barack African American

Author:Rush Limbaugh

“I've had some Democrat African-American leaders tell me they're really not all that comfortable with Obama as the lead at the MLK festivities 'cause he's not down for the struggle. He does not have that in his roots.”

Doe Causes Leader Struggle Comfortable Roots Democrat African American Festivities

Author:Rush Limbaugh

“The colour of the skin is in no way connected with strength of the mind or intellectual powers.”

Way Mind Intellectual Skins Connected Intellect Discrimination African American Colour Anti Racist

Author:Benjamin Banneker

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.”

Inspirational Literature Differences Inspiring Accepting Equality Celebrate African American Divides Celebration Inability Dividing Celebrate Life Black Women Inspirational Racism And Prejudice

Author:Audre Lorde

“I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood.”

Inspirational Believe Made Important Silence Risk Acceptance African American Misunderstood Bruised Intersectionality Bruised Hearts

Book:Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches

Source: Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches

“When I dare to be powerful - to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”

Inspirational Important Use Success Fear Women Black Powerful Business Vision Power Courage Successful Strength Becoming Importance Encouragement Feminist Dare Helping Others African American Life Changing Service Women Empowerment Daring Strong Women Success In Life Encouraging Black Women No Fear Black History Empowering Women Overcoming Fear Being Strong Project Management Empowered Women Successful Women Successful Life Moral Courage Strength And Weakness Best Success Inspirational Strong Women Great Women Becoming Successful Black History Month Women Power Power And Control Strong Female Inspire Women Black History Month Inspirational Great Vision Business Woman Visions And Dreams Black Power Women Strength New Vision Black History Inspirational Inspirational Strength Strong Powerful Women Getting Stronger Black Women Inspirational Famous Women Inspirational Black Inspirational Great Female Strong Motivational Volunteerism And Service Black Motivational Power And Fear Confident Woman Power Strength Spiritual Vision Women And Strength Encouraging Uplifting Common Vision

Author:Audre Lorde

“The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house.”

Action Literature House Peace Power Masters Words Of Wisdom Tools Inequality African American

Author:Audre Lorde

“Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.”

“There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.”

“A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.”

Men War Wisdom Fall Peace Words Of Wisdom African American Falling Apart Developmental Stand For Something African American Love Fall Of Man

Author:Malcolm X

“If you don't stand for something you will fall for anything.”

“Stumbling is not falling.”

Fall Challenges Design Obstacles African American Stumbling

Author:Malcolm X

“I try to find the core values that are so fundamental that they transcend ethnic identity. That doesn't mean I run from it. I embrace African-American culture and I love it and embrace it, but it is a part of a human identity. So I'm always trying to make a larger human statement.”

Trying Humans Mean Running Values Culture Identity Fundamentals Embrace Core Statements African American American Culture Always Trying Core Values Ethnic Identity African American Culture

Author:Wynton Marsalis

African American Quotes

Related topics

African American Quotes