Black History Month is annually observed in February in the U.S.A. We’ve curated a collection of quotes that you can use throughout the month, or at any point, to pay homage to notable Black historical figures and leaders. These quotes are inspirational and reflect the struggles, triumphs, and wisdom of the Black experience.. Hang these posters in your classroom as a reminder of how far we’ve come and how far we still need to go to live in a world of racial justice!
1. “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
2. “The time is always right to do what is right.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
3. “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.” – Booker T. Washington
4. “I had no idea that history was being made. I was just tired of giving up.” – Rosa Parks
5. “The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression.” – W.E.B. Du Bois
6. “Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated.” – Coretta Scott King
7. “Defining myself, as opposed to being defined by others, is one of the most difficult challenges I face.” – Carol Moseley-Braun
8. “You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.” – Malcolm X
9. “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” – Desmond Tutu
10. “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” – Frederick Douglass
11. “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” – Maya Angelou
12. “The only way to deal with fear is to face it head-on.” – Morgan Freeman
13. “Do not call for black power or green power. Call for brain power.” – Barbara Jordan
14. “Where there is no vision, there is no hope.” – George Washington Carver
15. “One day our descendants will think it incredible that we paid so much attention to things like the amount of melanin in our skin or the shape of our eyes or our gender instead of the unique identities of each of us as complex human beings.” – Franklin Thomas
16. “Whatever we believe about ourselves and our ability comes true for us.” – Susan L. Taylor
17. “I am lucky that whatever fear I have inside me, my desire to win is always stronger.” – Serena Williams
18. “In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.” – Thurgood Marshall
19. “Do not be silent; there is no limit to the power that may be released through you.” – Howard Thurman
20. “Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.” – Dr. Mae Jemison
21. “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – African Proverb
22. “The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau…” – Dan Rather
23. “We must never forget that Black History is American History. The achievements of African Americans have contributed to our nation’s greatness.” – Yvette Clarke
24. “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” – Langston Hughes
25. “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” – Nelson Mandela
26. “I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.” – Frederick Douglass
27. “No person has the right to rain on your dreams.” – Marian Wright Edelman
28. “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear.” – Rosa Parks
29. “The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.” – Ida B. Wells
30. “There is no force more powerful than a woman determined to rise.” – W.E.B. Du Bois
31. “We are not makers of history. We are made by history.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
32. “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” – Angela Davis
33. “I am my best work—a series of road maps, reports, recipes, doodles, and prayers from the front lines.” – Audre Lorde
34. “History has shown us that courage can be contagious, and hope can take on a life of its own.” – Michelle Obama
35. “Freedom is never given; it is won.” – A. Philip Randolph
36. “You’re not obligated to win. You’re obligated to keep trying to do the best you can every day.” – Marian Wright Edelman
37. “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
38. “You can pray until you faint, but unless you get up and try to do something, God is not going to put it in your lap.” – Fannie Lou Hamer
39. “We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou
40. “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – Harriet Tubman
41. “I have observed this in my experience of slavery, that whenever my condition was improved, instead of increasing my contentment, it only increased my desire to be free, and set me thinking of plans to gain my freedom.” – Frederick Douglass