Best African American Quotes | Short & Famous Sayings Page 28

“When I discover who I am, I'll be free.”

Life Inspirational Freedom Inspiring Who I Am African American

Source: Invisible Man

“I never doubted my ability, but when you hear all your life you're inferior, it makes you wonder if the other guys have something you've never seen before. If they do, I'm still looking for it.”

Ifs Stills Motivational Guy Ability Wonder Racism Slavery African American Inferiors Philanthropy Other Guys Doubted

Author:Hank Aaron

“I grew up upper-class. Private school, my dad had a Jaguar. We're African-American and we work together as a family, so people assume we're like the Jacksons. But I didn't have parents using me to get out of a bad situation.”

People School Together Parent Situation Class Grew Dad Grew Up Assuming My Dad African American Working Together Using Me Upper Class Private School Bad Situations Jaguars

Author:Beyonce Knowles

“As you know, in this country Anglo-Americans are about 75 to 76 percent home ownership in this country, where Hispanics, African Americans are less than 50 percent.”

Knows Country Home Percent African American Ownership Home Ownership

Author:Alphonso Jackson

“The first job I had with the Smithsonian was as a field researcher among African American communities in Southwest Louisiana and Arkansas for the festival.”

Firsts Jobs Community Fields African American Festivals Researchers Louisiana Arkansas Smithsonian

Author:Bernice Johnson Reagon

“African American children can't be educationally disadvantaged for 12 years and then experience a miracle cure when it comes time for admission into college.”

Years Children College Miracle Cures African American Admission Disadvantaged

Author:Chaka Fattah

“According to the American Heart Association, the prevalence of hypertension in African Americans in the United States is among the highest in the world.”

World Heart States United United States Highest African American Association Hypertension

Author:Xavier Becerra

“African-American women account for 67 percent of all newly diagnosed female AIDS cases.”

Cases Percent Female Accounts Aids African American American Woman African American Women

Author:Elijah Cummings

“Since Bush has been in office, African-American women have fallen behind in terms of income and wages.”

Has Beens Term Behinds Office Income African American Fallen Wages American Woman African American Women

Author:Donna Brazile

“Sports and entertainment have always been windows of opportunity for African Americans, when other doors were closed.”

Opportunity Sports Doors Window Entertainment African American Window Of Opportunity

Author:Lynn Swann

“Take the time to discover how African-Americans have had a great impact on this country. In science, education, literature, art, and politics.”

Art Country Literature Sports Education Impact African American Science Education

Author:Lynn Swann

“The challenges African-Americans are facing today are rooted in the system of slavery.”

Today Challenges Slavery African American Rooted

Author:Charles Rangel

“Being black, I'm involved in the reparations movement. It's focused toward the African-American audience. We could begin to heal.”

Black Audience Movement Involved Focused Heal African American Reparations

Author:Cassandra Wilson

“I had very supportive parents that made the way for me, even at a time when there were very few women - no women, really; maybe two or three women - and very few, fewer than that, African-American women heading in this direction, so there were very few people to look up to. You just had to have faith.”

People Way Looks Made Two Faith Three Parent African American Look Up Have Faith Fewer Supportive Up To You Headings American Woman African American Women Supportive Parents

Author:Leah Ward Sears

“Ray Charles revolutionary approach to music was also reflected in his politics and his deep and abiding commitment to Martin Luther King and the plight of African-Americans. Ray Charles may not have been on the front lines, but he put his money where his mouth was.”

May Has Beens Lines Money Fronts Kings Approach Mouths Commitment African American Revolutionary Rays Luther Abiding Plight

Author:Diane Watson

“It will be up to each of you to make sure that young people, African Americans, Latinos and women who powered our victory in 2008 stand together once again.”

People Together Young Victory African American Latino

Author:Barack Obama

“You know, when Trayvon Martin was first shot I said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago. And when you think about why, in the African American community at least, there's a lot of pain around what happened here, I think it's important to recognize that the African American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that doesn't go away.”

“Over the course of the years, I've learned [that] fashion is a fascinating business about selling magic. It is done on the backs of our optimism and our insecurity. It is as much psychology as commerce. But I've also learned that every day we make split second decisions about people based on their attire and those decisions can have powerful implications - see the story of Trayvon Martin and his hoodie. It's important for us to understand how fashion works and how we connect to it.”

“Only when you know who you are will you be able to find the courage to do what drives you-with integrity and grace.”

Knows Inspiration Able Grace Integrity Who You Are African American

Author:Bethann Hardison

“Luxury is...to be able to take control of one's life, health, and the pursuit of happiness in a way that is joyful.”

Way Inspiration Able Pursuit Luxury African American Joyful Pursuit Of Happiness Take Control

Author:Andre Leon Talley

“Let us stop saying 'white Americans' and 'colored Americans,' let us try once and for all saying... Americans. Let human beings be equal on Earth as in Heaven.”

Trying Humans Inspiration Earth Heaven Human Beings White Equal African American

Author:Josephine Baker

“The most important thing is to be happy and true to yourself. I don't want to look back at this in 30 years from now and say, 'I did it all to make them happy and I didn't enjoy.'”

Want Years Looks Important Inspiration Enjoy Important Things African American True To Yourself

Author:Rihanna

“My belief is that it is most important for an artist to develop an approach and philosophy about life - if he has developed this philosophy, he does not put paint on canvas, he puts himself on canvas.”

Ifs Life Doe Art Important Philosophy Artist Belief Approach Paint Painter African American Developing Canvas

Author:Jacob Lawrence

“Be the buffalo. Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee nation, once told me how the cow runs away from the storm while the buffalo charges directly toward it—and gets through it quicker. Whenever I'm confronted with a tough challenge, I do not prolong the torment. I become the buffalo.”

“The Afrocentric exploration of the black past only scratches the surface. A full examination of the ancestry of those who are referred to in the newspapers as blacks and African Americans must include Europe and Native America.”

America Past Black Europe Surface Newspapers African American Native Exploration Scratches Examination Ancestry Native America

Book:Airing Dirty Laundry

Source: Airing Dirty Laundry

“And what gift of America to the rest of the world is actually most appreciated by the rest of the world? It is African American jazz and its offshoots. What is my definition of jazz? Safe sex of the highest order.”

World America Order Sex Safe Highest Jazz Definitions African American Appreciated

Book:Armageddon in Retrospect

Source: Armageddon in Retrospect

“When people tell me nothing has changed, I say come walk in my shoes and I will show you change.”

People Shows Change Walks Changed Politician Walking Shoes African American Things Have Changed

Author:John Lewis

“I'm not afraid of who I am. I'm not afraid to tell the world who I am. I'm Michael Sam, I'm a college graduate, I'm African-American and I'm gay.”

World College Gay Who I Am African American Graduates Not Afraid College Graduates

Author:Michael Sam

“I had a white senator call me a rag head, and I had an African-American legislator call me a conservative with a tan.”

White Conservative African American Call Me Senators Legislators Rags

Author:Nikki Haley

“Every African-American I know has two faces. There's the face that we have for ourselves and the face we put on for white America for the places we have to get to.”

Knows Two America Faces White African American

Author:Lee Daniels

“However, research in the years that followed found that in many of its important features, African American Vernacular English was becoming not less, but more different from other dialects.”

Years Important Different Found Becoming Research African American Features Dialect Vernacular

Author:William Labov

“As African-Americans, we often spend our time and energy blaming other people for the problems we see around us.”

People Problem Energy Blame African American Our Time Time And Energy Blaming Others

Author:Pearl Cleage

“We can’t sit back and celebrate Martin King and ask when will there be another like him. No, no my dear young friends. We must join our voices with that blessed poet June Jordan and demonstrate that 'we are the ones we’ve been waiting for.'”

Motivational Young Asks Waiting Voice Poet Kings Sitting Blessed Dear Celebrate African American June Demonstration Jordan Power Of Intention Anti Racist Young Friends

Author:Vincent Harding

“Within a lot of African-American households, I think, there's an idea that black men don't want to take an active participation in the lives of their children. That if they do, there has to be some sort of ulterior motive.”

Ifs Thinking Men Want Children Ideas Black Active African American Motive Household Participation Ulterior Motive Active Participation

Author:Gabrielle

“Jesse Jackson's living depends on the maintenance of an African-American victim culture”

Culture Politics Depends Victim African American Maintenance

Author:Mark Steyn

“I guarantee that the seed you plant in love, not matter how small, will grow into a mighty tree of refuge. We all want a future for ourselves and we must now care enough to create, nurture and secure a future for our children.””

“From blood banking to the modern subway, from jazz to social justice, the contributions of African Americans have shaped and molded and influenced our national culture and our national character.”

Character Culture Social Justice Blood Modern Social Justice Jazz African American Contribution Banking Subway National Culture

Author:Bill Frist

“American civil rights leader, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Lynching is a murder. For the past four hundred years our people have been lynched physically, but now it's done politically. We're lynched politically, we're lynched economically, we're lynched socially, we're lynched in every way that you can imagine.”

People Way Years Has Beens Done Past Community Leader Four Rights Imagine Hundred Murder Chaos Civil Rights African American Lynching Civil Rights Leaders

Author:Malcolm X

“After four hundred years of slave labor, we have some back pay coming, a bill owed to us that must be collected.”

Years Pay Four Hundred Labor Bills Slave African American Slave Labor

Author:Malcolm X

“When I conjure these memories, they are of the present to me, because after all, the artist is a kind of enchanter in time.”

Kind Artist Time Memories Painter African American Enchanting Conjuring

Author:Romare Bearden

“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.”

Kind Art Done Form Artist Values Black Painting Determine All Kinds Painter African American Treatment Working It

Author:Kerry James Marshall

“To be black and conscious in America is to be in a constant state of rage.”

States America Black Conscious Constant Rage African American

Author:James A. Baldwin

“If you are black, the only roads into the mainland of American life are through subservience, cowardice, and loss of manhood. These are the white man's roads.”

Ifs Men Black Loss White African American Cowardice Manhood White Man American Life Subservience

Author:Amiri Baraka

“Actively we have woven ourselves with the very warp and woof of this nation, - we have fought their battles, shared their sorrow, mingled our blood with theirs, and generation after generation have pleaded with a headstrong, careless people to despise not Justice, Mercy and Truth, lest the nation be smitten with a curse. Our song, our toil, our cheer and warning have been given to this nation in blood-brotherhood. Are not these gifts worth the giving? Is not this worth the striving? Would America have been America without her Negro People?”

“There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation and discrimination on a reluctant nation's social agenda. Would black churches have been able to take the lead in the struggle had they been dependent on funds doled out for 'faith-based initiatives' . . . ?”

“I'm a kid who grew up in an all African-American neighborhood and got into schools and aspired to just be me, and didn't worry about labels or anything. Just wanted to be a success at what I did.”

Kids Wanted School Worry Grew Grew Up African American Labels Neighborhood

Author:Darius Rucker

“It isn't where you came from, its where you're going that counts.”

Happiness Success Fear Inspiring Music Violence Abuse Jazz Musical African American Philanthropy

Author:Ella Fitzgerald

“African Americans make up about 13 percent of the U.S. population but comprise 32 percent of patients treated for kidney failure, giving them a kidney failure rate that is 4.2 times greater than that of white Americans.”

Giving White Greater Percent Patient Rate Population Treated African American Kidneys

Author:Xavier Becerra

“With respect to Barack Obama, let's face it; Barack Obama is an iconic figure in the African-American community. We respect that. We understand that. African-Americans are going to vote for the first black president, especially when he happens to share the liberal politics on economic issues that many in that community hold.”

Firsts Happens Faces Black President Community Issues Share Economic Figures Vote Barack African American Iconic Economic Issues

Author:Artur Davis

“Sure, there's a chunk of African-Americans out there who associate the Republican Party with racism, frankly particularly in the Deep South. It's an unfair perception, but it exists. Over a period time, that perception will die away if Republicans are focusing on issues that happen to impact African-Americans.”

Ifs Happens Dies Party Issues Periods Republican Perception Racism Impact South African American Unfair Associates Republican Party Chunks

Author:Artur Davis

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