Here is our list of the best quotes for Black History Month.
Quotes for Black History Month are famous sayings and excerpts about topics related to Black history and racial equality. Examples include quotes about Black excellence, strength, leadership, and success. The purpose of these quotes is to highlight the important sayings made by important figures throughout history, such as civil rights leaders and trailblazers.
These ideas are similar to examples of Black History Month celebration ideas, online Black History Month ideas, and diversity and inclusion activities.
This list includes:
- Black history motivational quotes
- Black history quotes for students
- Black quotes about success
- Black excellence quotes
- Black quotes about strength
- leadership quotes for Black history month
Let’s get to it!
Black history motivational quotes
1. “Just don’t give up what you’re trying to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.” – Ella Fitzgerald, American jazz singer
2. “Don’t aspire to make a living, aspire to make a difference.” – Denzel Washington, American actor and filmmaker
3. “The future rewards those who press on. I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I don’t have time to complain. I’m going to press on.” – Barack Obama, 44th US president
4. “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.” – Langston Hughes, poet, social activist, novelist, and playwright
5. “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.” – Malcolm X, human rights activist
6. “Have a vision of excellence, a dream of success, and work like hell.” – Dr. Samuel DuBois Cook, political scientist
7. “Stretch your mind and fly.” – Whitney M. Young, Jr., civil rights leader
8. “I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.” – Langston Hughes, poet, social activist, novelist, and playwright
9. “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – Barack Obama, 44th US president
10. “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Baptist minister and activist
11. “Don’t let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It’s your place in the world; it’s your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make the life you want to live.” – Mae Jemison, engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut
12. “Have a vision. Be demanding.” – Colin Powell, former US Secretary of State
13. “Hold on to your dreams of a better life and stay committed to striving to realize it.” – Earl G. Graves, Sr., entrepreneur, philanthropist, and advocate of African-American businesses
14. “We will all, at some point, encounter hurdles to gaining access and entry, moving up and conquering self-doubt; but on the other side is the capacity to own opportunity and tell our own story.” – Stacey Abrams, former Georgia state representative
Black history quotes for students
15. “Education is transformational. It changes lives. That is why people work so hard to become educated and why education has always been the key to the American Dream, the force that erases arbitrary divisions of race and class and culture and unlocks every person’s God-given potential.” – Condoleezza Rice, former US Secretary of State
16. “Won’t it be wonderful when black history and Native American history and Jewish history and all of U.S. history is taught from one book. Just U.S. history.” – Maya Angelou, Pulitzer-prize nominated poet
17. “The time is always right to do what is right.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Baptist minister and activist
18. “Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise. I rise. I rise.” – Maya Angelou, Pulitzer-prize nominated poet
19. “I had no idea that history was being made. I was just tired of giving up.” – Rosa Parks, civil rights activist
20. “I don’t want a Black History Month. Black history is American history.” – Morgan Freeman, actor, director, and narrator
21. “I’m hungry for knowledge. The whole thing is to learn every day, to get brighter and brighter. That’s what this world is about. You look at someone like Gandhi, and he glowed. Martin Luther King glowed. Muhammad Ali glows. I think that’s from being bright all the time, and trying to be brighter.” – Jay-Z, rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur
22. “Black History Month must be more than just a month of remembrance; it should be a tribute to our history and reminder of the work that lies in the months and years ahead.” – Marty Meehan, American academic administrator, politician, and attorney
23. “Ours is not the struggle of one day, one week, or one year. Ours is not the struggle of one judicial appointment or presidential term. Ours is the struggle of a lifetime, or maybe even many lifetimes, and each one of us in every generation must do our part.” – John Lewis, American politician and civil rights activist
24. “National Black History Month serves as both a celebration and a powerful reminder that Black history is American history, Black culture is American culture, and Black stories are essential to the ongoing story of America—our faults, our struggles, our progress, and our aspirations. Shining a light on Black history today is as important to understanding ourselves and growing stronger as a Nation as it has ever been.” – Joe Biden, 46th US president
Black quotes about success
25. “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” – Muhammad Ali, professional boxer and activist
26. “I am lucky that whatever fear I have inside me, my desire to win is always stronger.” – Serena Williams, professional American tennis player
27. “I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan, former professional basketball player
28. “When I look at the future, it’s so bright it burns my eyes.” – Oprah Winfrey, American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist
29. “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” – Frederick Douglass, American social reformer, abolitionist, and writer
30. “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.” – Booker T. Washington, American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several US presidents
31. “We all have dreams. In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort.” – Jesse Owens, American track and field athlete
32. “Every time you state what you want or believe, you’re the first to hear it. It’s a message to both you and others about what you think is possible. Don’t put a ceiling on yourself.” – Oprah Winfrey, American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist
33. “Dreams are lovely but they are just dreams. Fleeting, ephemeral, pretty. But dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It’s hard work that makes things happen. It’s hard work that creates change.” – Shonda Rhimes, television screenwriter
34. “Even in dark times, we not only dream, we do. We not only see what has been, we see what can be. We shoot for the moon, and then we plant our flag on it. We are bold, fearless, and ambitious. We are undaunted in our belief that we shall overcome; that we will rise up. This is American aspiration.” – Kamala Harris, US vice president
35. “Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.” – Michelle Obama, former US first lady, attorney, and author
36. “If you have no critics you’ll likely have no success.” – Malcolm X, human rights activist
37. “It isn’t where you come from; it’s where you’re going that counts.” – Ella Fitzgerald, American jazz singer
Black excellence quotes
38. “I need to see my own beauty and to continue to be reminded that I am enough, that I am worthy of love without effort, that I am beautiful, that the texture of my hair and that the shape of my curves, the size of my lips, the color of my skin, and the feelings that I have are all worthy and okay.” – Tracee Ellis Ross, actress
39. “We have always been wonderful. I see us reflected in the world’s most heavenly things. Black is king. We were beauty before they knew what beauty was.” – Beyoncé Knowles, singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer
40. “As black women, we’re always given these seemingly devastating experiences—experiences that could absolutely break us. But what the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls the butterfly. What we do as black women is take the worst situations and create from that point.” – Viola Davis, actress and producer
41. “One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don’t invest any energy in them, because I know who I am.” – Michelle Obama, former US first lady, attorney, and author
42. “I am America. I am the part you won’t recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.” – Muhammad Ali, professional boxer and activist
43. “Being a Black woman writer is not a shallow place but a rich place to write from. It doesn’t limit my imagination; it expands it. It’s richer than being a white male writer because I know more and I’ve experienced more.” – Toni Morrison, American novelist
44. “Character is power.” – Booker T. Washington, American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several US presidents
45. “A people without knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” – Marcus Garvey, Jamaican political activist
46. “Even if it makes others uncomfortable, I will love who I am.” – Janelle Monáe, American singer
47. “When we’re talking about diversity, it’s not a box to check. It is a reality that should be deeply felt and held and valued by all of us.” – Ava DuVernay, American filmmaker
48. “The very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being.” – Toni Morrison, American novelist
49. “We need to internalize this idea of excellence. Not many folks spend a lot of time trying to be excellent.” – Barack Obama, 44th US president
Black quotes about strength
50. “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa
51. “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” – Muhammad Ali, professional boxer and activist
52. “There is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.” – Amanda Gorman, American poet and activist
53. “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” – Desmond Tutu, South African Anglican bishop and theologian
54. “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” – Angela Y. Davis, American political activist, philosopher, academic, and author
55. “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear.” – Rosa Parks, civil rights activist
56. “I prayed for freedom for twenty years, but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.” – Frederick Douglass, American social reformer, abolitionist, and writer
57. “My biggest discovery was that you can literally re-create your life. You can redefine it. You don’t have to live in the past. I found that not only did I have fight in me, I had love.” – Viola Davis, actress and producer
58. “Truth is powerful and it prevails.” – Sojourner Truth, American abolitionist
59. “If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life.” – Marcus Garvey, Jamaican political activist
60. “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.” – Audre Lorde, writer, radical feminist, professor, and civil rights activist
Leadership quotes for Black history month
61. “Life is not a spectator sport. If you’re going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion, you’re wasting your life.” – Jackie Robinson, American baseball player
62. “I felt that one had better die fighting against injustice than to die like a dog or rat in a trap. I had already determined to sell my life as early as possible if attacked. I felt if I could take one lyncher with me, this would even up the score a little bit.” – Ida B. Wells, American investigative journalist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement
63. “We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be: a country that is bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free.” – Amanda Gorman, American poet and activist
64. “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” – Shirley Chisholm, former US representative
65. “Developing a good work ethic is key. Apply yourself at whatever you do because that work ethic will be reflected in everything you do in life.” – Tyler Perry, American actor, filmmaker, playwright, and entrepreneur
66. “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Baptist minister and activist
67. “Go out there and swear to this world your oath, not with your words, but with what you do. Not with your hand over your heart, but with your hand outstretched to a world that desperately needs your hand, your help, your insights, your creativity, your honor, your courage. It needs you.” – Cory Booker, US senator from New Jersey
68. “A leader…is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the other follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.” – Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa
69. “I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.” – Madam C.J. Walker, African American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist
70. “The mere imparting of information is not education. Above all things, the effort must result in making a man think and do for himself.” – Carter G. Woodson, American historian, author, journalist, and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History
71. “If your success is defined as being well adjusted to injustice and well adapted to indifference, then we don’t want successful leaders. We want great leaders who love the people enough and respect the people enough to be unbought, unbound, unafraid, and unintimidated to tell the truth.” – Dr. Cornel West, American philosopher and political activist
Conclusion
Black History Month is all about recognizing and celebrating Black history and culture. Sharing quotes throughout the month is one of the best ways to amplify Black voices while educating and inspiring your team. Plus, these quotes allow you to honor Black leaders, trailblazers, and change-makers throughout history. We recommend sharing quotes as a way to empower and motivate team members while promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.
Next, check out workplace Women’s History Month ideas and online Pride Month ideas for work.