With the widespread racism and turmoil permeating our country today, now more than ever, Black History Month needs to be not only celebrated, but understood and appreciated. The annual celebration began with Carter G. Woodson after he and Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. It officially started being celebrated in 1976 by President Ford, and has since flourished as a time to remember and acknowledge the overwhelming adversity people of color have faced in our country and in countries around the world. Here are a few inspiring quotations by people of color who have been pivotal in the fight for equality:
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” –Maya Angelou, American Writer
“No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow.” –Alice Walker, American Writer and Civil and Women’s Rights Activist
“Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” –James Baldwin, American Writer
“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is in an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” –Frederick Douglass, Survivor of Slavery and Abolitionist
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” –Martin Luther King, Jr., Civil Rights Activist
“You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.” –Malcom X, Civil Rights Activist
“But surely to tell these tall tales and others like them would be to spread the myth, the wicked lie, that the past is always tense and the future, perfect.” –Zadie Smith, English Writer
“Ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” –James Baldwin
“Healing begins where the wound was made.” Alice Walker
“We are not fighting for integration, nor are we fighting for separation. We are fighting for recognition as human beings… in fact, we are actually fighting for rights that are even greater than civil rights and that is human rights.” –Malcolm X
“There is always something to do. There are hungry people to feed, naked people to clothe, sick people to comfort and make well. And while I don’t expect you to save the world, I do think it’s not asking too much from you to love those with whom you sleep, share the happiness of those whom you call friend, engage those among you who are visionary and remove from your life those who offer you depression, despair and disrespect.” – Nikki Giovanni, American Poet and Civil and Women’s Rights Activist
“The triumph can’t be had without the struggle.” –Wilma Rudolph, American Athlete
“When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.” –African Proverb
This month, although it has a title distinguishing it from the other months of the year, should motivate you to appreciate and advocate for equality throughout year.