Best 108 Motivational Quotes By Black Leader

Motivational quotes by black leaders have the power to inspire and uplift people from all walks of life. These leaders have faced tremendous challenges and adversity in their lives, yet they have still managed to make a significant impact on history. From Martin Luther King Jr. to Maya Angelou, their words of wisdom have been passed down through generations and continue to resonate today. These quotes encourage us to never give up, to stand up for what we believe in, and to push forward in the face of obstacles. In this article, we will explore some of the most powerful motivational quotes by black leaders.

1. “I was raised to believe that excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism. And that’s how I operate my life.” – Oprah Winfrey
2. “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
3. “Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
4. “Racism is man’s gravest threat to man – the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason.” – Abraham Joshua Heschel
5. “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
6. “Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated.” – Coretta Scott King
7. “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
8. “The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression.” – W.E.B. Du Bois
9. “Have a vision of excellence, a dream of success, and work like hell.” – Dr. Samuel DuBois Cook
10. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
11. “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
12. “In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist. We must be anti-racist.” – Angela Davis
13. “Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by others doing it.” – James Baldwin
14. “The beauty of anti-racism is that you don’t have to pretend to be free of racism to be anti-racist. Anti-racism is the commitment to fight racism wherever you find it, including in yourself. And it’s the only way forward.” – Ijeoma Oluo
15. “To me, we are the most beautiful creatures in the whole world. Black people. And I mean that in every sense.” – Nina Simone
16. “In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.” – Thurgood Marshall
17. “We need to internalise this idea of excellence. Not many folks spend a lot of time trying to be excellent.” – Barack Obama
18. “Diversity is not about how we differ. Diversity is about embracing one another’s uniqueness.” – Ola Joseph
19. “The things that make us different, those are our super powers.” – Lena Waithe
20. “You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.” – Malcolm X
21. “If you can be the best, then why not try to be the best?” – Garrett Morgan
22. “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” – Desmond Tutu
23. “Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.” – Dr. Mae Jemison
24. “If you’re going to hold someone down you’re going to have to hold on by the other end of the chain. You are confined by your own repression.” – Toni Morrison
25. “The soul that is within me no man can degrade.” – Frederick Douglass
26. “A democracy cannot thrive where power remains unchecked and justice is reserved for a select few. Ignoring these cries and failing to respond to this movement is simply not an option – for peace cannot exist where justice is not served.” – John Lewis
27. “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
28. “The thing about black history is that the truth is so much more complex than anything you could make up.” – Henry Louis Gates
29. “If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life.” – Marcus Garvey
30. “Wherever there is a human being, I see God-given rights inherent in that being, whatever may be the sex or complexion.” – William Lloyd Garrison
31. “I am lucky that whatever fear I have inside me, my desire to win is always stronger.” – Serena Williams
32. “We must never forget that Black History is American History. The achievements of African Americans have contributed to our nation’s greatness.” – Yvette Clarke
33. “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” – Shirley Chisholm
34. “Black history isn’t a separate history. This is all of our history, this is American history, and we need to understand that. It has such an impact on kids and their values and how they view black people.” – Karyn Parsons
35. “The impatient idealist says: ‘Give me a place to stand and I shall move the earth.’ But such a place does not exist. We all have to stand on the earth itself and go with her at her pace.” – Chinua Achebe
36. “History is a people’s memory, and without a memory, man is demoted to the lower animals.” – Malcolm X
37. “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” – Alice Walker
38. “History has shown us that courage can be contagious, and hope can take on a life of its own. –Michelle Obama
39. “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
40. “The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression.” –W.E.B. Du Bois
41. “Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.” – Toni Morrison
42. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” –Nelson Mandela
43. “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
44. “You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.” –Malcolm X
45. “I will not take ‘but’ for an answer.” – Langston Hughes
46. “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” –Frederick Douglass
47. “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
48. “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
49. “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” – Frederick Douglass
50. “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.” –Rosa Parks
51. “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
52. “The time is always right to do what is right.” –Martin Luther King, Jr.
53. “History has shown us that courage can be contagious, and hope can take on a life of its own. – Michelle Obama
54. “Freedom is never given; it is won.” –A. Philip Randolph
55. “It isn’t where you come from; it’s where you’re going that counts.” – Ella Fitzgerald
56. “Character is power.” – Booker T. Washington
57. “We will not march back to what was. We move to what shall be, a country that is bruised, but whole. Benevolent, but bold. Fierce and free.” –Amanda Gorman
58. “Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced,” -James Baldwin
59. “In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.” –Thurgood Marshall
60. “Truth is powerful and it prevails.” – Sojourner Truth
61. “Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated.” –Coretta Scott King
62. “Freedom is never given; it is won.” – A. Philip Randolph
63. “If you wake up deciding what you want to give versus what you’re going to get, you become a more successful person. In other words, if you want to make money, you have to help someone else make money.” –Russell Simmons
64. “Have a vision. Be demanding.” – Colin Powell
65. “Defining myself, as opposed to being defined by others, is one of the most difficult challenges I face.” –Carol Moseley-Braun
66. “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” – Langston Hughes
67. “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” –Jackie Robinson
68. “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
69. “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” –Desmond Tutu
70. “Where there is no vision, there is no hope.” – George Washington Carver
71. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” –Martin Luther King Jr.
72. Power means happiness; power means hard work and sacrifice -Beyonce Knowles
73. “It isn’t where you come from; it’s where you’re going that counts.” –Ella Fitzgerald
74. “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
75. “Character is power.” –Booker T. Washington
76. “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” – Angela Y. Davis
77. “I don’t have a feeling of inferiority. Never had. I’m as good as anybody, but no better.” –Katherine Johnson
78. “No person is your friend who demands your silence or denies your right to grow.” – Alice Walker
79. “Hold on to your dreams of a better life and stay committed to striving to realise it.” –Earl G. Graves, Sr.
80. “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a moulder of consensus.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.
81. You can only become accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.” –Maya Angelou
82. “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
83. “Have a vision. Be demanding.” –Colin Powell
84. “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
85. “In all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress.” – Booker T. Washington
86. “There are times in life when, instead of complaining, you do something about your complaints.” –Rita Dove
87. “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
88. “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
89. “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
90. “What’s the world for if you can’t make it up the way you want it?” –Toni Morrison
91. “If we do not know how to meaningfully talk about racism, our actions will move in misleading directions.” – Angela Davis
92. “Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.” –Dr. Mae Jemison
93. “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
94. “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
95. “If you have no critics you’ll likely have no success.” – Malcolm X
96. “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
97. “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” –Langston Hughes
98. “A leader…is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realising that all along they are being directed from behind.” – Nelson Mandela
99. “We are not makers of history. We are made by history.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
100. “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; Knowing what must be done does away with fear.” —Rosa Parks
101. “Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.” – Michelle Obama
102. “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
103. “I had no idea that history was being made. I was just tired of giving up.” – Rosa Parks
104. “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
105. “Darkness can not drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
106. “Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” —Barack Obama
107. “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
108. “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” —Muhammad Ali

conclusion

In conclusion, the words and wisdom of black leaders have inspired and motivated many people to fight for equality, justice, and freedom. Through their struggles and achievements, these leaders have left behind a legacy that continues to inspire generations. The motivational quotes from black leaders serve as a reminder that the fight for equality and justice is ongoing, and that we must continue to work towards a more just and equitable society. The lessons they have taught us about resilience, courage, and determination are more relevant today than ever before, and it is up to us to carry on their legacy and create a better future for all.