Black History Month Quotes
- “I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
- “We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou
- “In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.” – Thurgood Marshall
- “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
- “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
- “The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression.” – W.E.B. Du Bois
- “You are your best thing.” – Toni Morrison
- “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” – Langston Hughes
- “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
- “Change is never easy, but always possible.” – Barack Obama
- “Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather, we have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” – Aristotle (Quoted by Maya Angelou in “Letter to My Daughter”)
- “The time is always right to do what is right.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
- “Freedom is never given; it is won.” – A. Philip Randolph
- “I had no idea that history was being made. I was just tired of giving up.” – Rosa Parks
- “You really can change the world if you care enough.” – Marian Wright Edelman
- “Success is not about climbing up the ladder, it’s about how many people you can bring up with you.” – Angela Davis
- “Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” – Mother Teresa
- “The function of freedom is to free someone else.” – Toni Morrison
- “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.” – Marcus Garvey
- “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” – Frederick Douglass
Black History Month | History, Theme, & Quotes
Black History Month happens every year in the United States. It’s also called African-American History Month. This special month honors the important contributions of African Americans in American history. We recognize people like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Mae Jemison, and Barack Obama for their great achievements in fighting for equal rights, serving on the Supreme Court, exploring space, and becoming the first African-American President of the United States.
The United States and Canada officially acknowledge Black History Month, and recently, people in Ireland and the United Kingdom have started observing it too. It all started as a way to remember important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. In the United States and Canada, Black History Month is celebrated every year in February, while in Ireland and the United Kingdom, it happens in October.