Since February 1976, Black History Month has marked the celebration of the many contributions that African Americans have made to this country. Throughout the years, stories of civil rights activists, inventors, musicians, scientists, philanthropists and more have been catapulted to the forefront of the national consciousness to honor the many firsts, hard work, strength and lasting legacies of Black Americans.

While making sure these stories continue to be told can take on many forms — from books that serve to educate to movies that enlighten — Black History Month quotes from famous Black leaders can also serve as a roadmap through the past and help the country charter a more equitable future. Take the time to read through each of the quotations listed here as you celebrate throughout February and beyond.

  1. "History has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own." – Michelle Obama
  2. "You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them." – Maya Angelou
  3. "To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time." – James Baldwin
  4. "Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a better person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in." – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
  5. "If there is no struggle, there is no progress." – Frederick Douglass
  6. "He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life." –Muhammad Ali
  7. "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
  8. "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
  9. "You’ve got to learn to leave the table when love’s no longer being served." – Nina Simone
  10. "The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression." – W.E.B. Du Bois
  11. "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
  12. "The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself — the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us — that’s where it’s at." – Jesse Owens
  13. "The difference between science and the arts is not that they are different sides of the same coin, even, or even different parts of the same continuum, but rather, they’re manifestations of the same thing." – Mae Jemison
  14. "White Americans desire to be free from a past they do not want to remember, while Black Americans remain bound to a past they can never forget." – Nikole Hannah-Jones
  15. "Don’t tell us what to believe, what to fear. Show us belief’s wide skirt and the stitch that unravels fear’s caul." – Toni Morrison
  16. "In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute." – Thurgood Marshall
  17. "A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots."– Marcus Garvey
  18. "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
  19. "Somebody once said we never know what is enough until we know what's more than enough." – Billie Holiday
  20. "There are two ways of exerting one's strength: one is pushing down, the other is pulling up." – Washington, Booker T.
  21. "If you can be the best, then why not try to be the best?" – Garrett Morgan
  22. "Truth is powerful and it prevails." – Sojourner Truth
  23. "I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept." – Angela Y. Davis
  24. "Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated." – Coretta Scott King
  25. "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
  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. "History is a people’s memory, and without a memory, man is demoted to the lower animals." – Malcolm X
  28. "What the people want is simple: they want an America as good as its promise." – Barbara Jordan
  29. "We must abolish the entitlement that deludes us into believing that we have the right to make assumptions about people's identities and project those assumptions onto their genders and bodies." – Janet Mock
  30. "I knew my life would be a fight, and I realized this: I had it in me." – Viola Davis
  31. "You don't have to become something you're not to be better than you were." – Sidney Poitier
  32. "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
  33. "I prayed for freedom for twenty years, but received no answer until I prayed with my legs." – Frederick Douglass
  34. "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
  35. "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
  36. "I call something a miracle when an ordinary person achieves something extraordinary. We all have the potential to create miraculous changes. "– Tina Turner
  37. "If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair." – Shirley Chisholm
  38. "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." – Jackie Robinson
  39. "Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me." – Zora Neale Hurston
  40. "We all require and want respect, man or woman, black or white. It’s our basic human right." – Aretha Franklin
  41. "The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them." – Ida B. Wells
  42. "How many years has it taken people to realize that we are all brothers and sisters and human beings in the human race?" – Marsha P. Johnson
  43. "Believe in yourself, learn, and never stop wanting to build a better world." – Mary McLeod Bethune
  44. "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
  45. "I knew then and I know now, when it comes to justice, there is no easy way to get it." – Claudette Colvin
  46. "Most of all, I want to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free and wanted others to be free." – Rosa Parks
  47. "You’re not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can’t face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or who says it." – Malcolm X
  48. "Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America." – John Lewis
  49. "Whatever we believe about ourselves and our ability comes true for us." – Susan L. Taylor
  50. "Black people have always been America’s wilderness in search of a promised land." – Cornel West
  51. "You are no better than anyone else, and no one is better than you." – Katherine Johnson
  52. "There is always light. Only if we are brave enough to see it. There is always light. Only if we are brave enough to be it." – Amanda Gorman
  53. "Everything will change. The only question is growing up or decaying." – Nikki Giovanni
  54. "You never know how or when you’ll have an impact, or how important your example can be to someone else." – Denzel Washington
  55. "We never go backward. That's the plight of the human species, but also our privilege. So as always, a new equation will emerge, and that will be led by the artists and likely powered by them as well." – Pharrell Williams
  56. "Have a vision. Be demanding." – Colin Powell
  57. "The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any." – Alice Walker
  58. "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
  59. "Many of us want change. I believe that when Black people tell our own stories, we can shift the axis of the world and tell our real history of generational wealth and richness of soul that are not told in our history books." – Beyoncé
  60. "To be a Black girl is to be one of the reasons the universe thrives. Our lineage has taught me that I am integral, that we are important, even when society dismisses us, hiding the wonder of our presence." – Yara Shahidi
  61. "Nobody's free until everybody's free." – Fannie Lou Hamer
  62. "Life has two rules: Number 1 - never quit! Number 2 - always remember rule number one." – Duke Ellington
  63. "True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice." – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
  64. "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
  65. "It’s not the load that breaks you down; it’s the way you carry it." – Lena Horne
  66. "I am sick and tired of being sick and tired." – Fannie Lou Hamer
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Cameron Jenkins
Staff Writer

Cameron (she/her) is a staff writer for Good Housekeeping, where she covers everything from holidays to food. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, where she received a B.A. in magazine journalism. In her spare-time she can be found scrolling TikTok for the latest cleaning hacks and restaurant openings, binge-watching seasons of Project Runway or online shopping.