“Though sands be black and bitter black the sea, Night lie before me and behind me night, And God within far Heaven refuse to light The consolation of the dawn for me,-- Between the shadowy burns of Heaven and Hell, It is enough love leaves my soul to dwell With memory.” SoulEnoughLightLyingNightHeavenBlackMemoriesBehindsHellSeaRefuseBitterMy SoulDawnSandConsolationHeaven And HellEnough Love Author:Madison Cawein
“Long gone is the time when we opposed the notion that we all looked alike and talked alike. Somehow we have come to exalt the new black stereotype above all and to demand conformity to that norm... [However], I assert my right to think for myself, to refuse to have my ideas assigned to me as though I was an intellectual slave because I'm black.” ThinkingLongIdeasBlackGoneDemandIntellectualSlaveNotionRefuseConformityStereotypeNorm Author:Clarence Thomas
“Today masses of black women in the U.S. refuse to acknowledge that they have much to gain by feminist struggle. They fear feminism. They have stood in place so long that they are afraid to move. They fear change. They fear losing what little they have.” LittlesLongTodayMovingBlackStruggleFeminismMassLosingGainsFeministRefuseAfrican AmericanAcknowledgeBlack WomenSocial ChangeAfrican American Women Author:Bell Hooks
“Whenever a conscious Black woman raises her voice on issues central to her existence, somebody is going to call her strident, because they don't want to hear about it, nor us. I refuse to be silenced and I refuse to be trivialized, even if I do not say what I have to say perfectly.” IfsWantBlackVoiceExistenceIssuesConsciousRaisesRefuseBlack Women Book:Conversations with Audre Lorde Source: Conversations with Audre Lorde