90+ Black History Makers That Shaped The World

“The color of the skin is in no way connected with strength of the mind or intellectual powers.”

“Basically, I’m not interested in doing research and I never have been… I’m interested in understanding, which is quite a different thing. And often to understand something you have to work it out yourself because no one else has done it.”

“Optics is an example of the different ways a human is able to see things in the world. The same goes for the color of a person’s skin and even though optics present that there are differences in color, these do not state that they should necessarily be treated as different.”

African American inventor Otis F. Boykin’s work on improved electrical resistors made possible the steady workings of a variety of now-ubiquitous electronic devices. Variations of his resistor models are used around the world today in televisions, computers, and radios. Most notably, however, his work enabled control functions for the first successful, implantable pacemaker.

“The greatest challenge I faced in becoming a neurosurgeon was believing it was possible.”

“God did not create woman from man’s head, that he should command her, nor from his feet, that she should be his slave, but rather from his side, that she should be near his heart.”

“If I can’t work with you, I will work around you.”

“Courage is like — it’s a habitus, a habit, a virtue: you get it by courageous acts. It’s like you learn to swim by swimming. You learn courage by couraging.”

“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.”

“I believe that love is better than hate. And that there is more nobility in building a chicken coop than in destroying a cathedral.”

Roger Arliner Young was the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate in zoology, after years of juggling research and teaching with the burden of caring for her invalid mother. Her story is one of grit and perseverance.

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”

“Freedom has never been free.”

“When I liberate myself, I liberate others. If you don’t speak out ain’t nobody going to speak out for you.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

“Invest in the human soul. Who knows, it might be a diamond in the rough.”

“I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free… so other people would also be free.”

“Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it.”

“I knew that I just didn’t have it in me to give up, even if I sometimes felt like a fool for continuing to believe.”

“Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination.”

“Leadership is the ability to influence people and motivate them to do what needs to be done to accomplish a goal, vision, or mission.”

“For people who believe that they can’t do it, I hope I’m an inspiration to others to get out there and try swimming. You might be pretty good at it.”

“Each of you, as an individual, must pick your own goals. Listen to others, but do not become a blind follower.”

Maya Angelou was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays and several books of poetry. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees.

“You’re never wasting your time as long as you learn from every single thing you do, whether you feel like those attempts are successful or not.”

“I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.”

“It is one of the blessings of this world that few people see visions and dream dreams.”

“Lies, injustice, and hypocrisy are a part of every ordinary community. Most people achieve a sort of protective immunity, a kind of callousness, toward them. If they didn’t, they couldn’t endure.”

“Be careful what you set your heart upon – for it will surely be yours.”

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.”

“Kindness eases change, love quiets fear.”

“When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.”

“In the bigger scheme of things the universe is not asking us to do something, the universe is asking us to be something. And that’s a whole different thing.”

“Be not afraid of discomfort. If you can’t put yourself in a situation where you are uncomfortable, then you will never grow. You will never change. You’ll never learn.”

“My belief is in the chaos of the world and that you have to find your peace within the chaos and that you still have to find some sort of mission.”

“Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you’ve got to make yourself.”

“Power doesn’t have to show off. Power is confident, self-assuring, self-starting and self-stopping, self-warming and self-justifying. When you have it, you know it.”

“Love grows from stable relationships, shared experience, loyalty, devotion, trust.”

“I believe in one day and someday and this perfect moment called Now.”

“I believe feminism is grounded in supporting the choices of women even if we wouldn’t make certain choices for ourselves.”

“What isn’t said is as important as what is said.”

“Never let anyone lower your goals. Others’ expectations of you are determined by their limitations of life. The sky is your limit, sons. Always shoot for the sun, and you will shine.”

Simone Arianne Biles is an American artistic gymnast. With a combined total of 32 Olympic and World Championship medals, Biles is tied as the most decorated gymnast of all time.

“Don’t count the days; make the days count.”

“You can’t be afraid to fail. It’s the only way you succeed. You’re not gonna succeed all the time and I know that.”

“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”

“We all have dreams. In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort.”

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”

“You have to let fear go. Another lesson is you just have to believe in yourself; you just have to. There’s no way around it. No matter how things are stacked against you, you just have to every time.” – Venus Williams

“I don’t like to lose — at anything — yet I’ve grown most not from victories, but setbacks.” – Serena Williams

Beyoncé Knowles is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is one of the world's best-selling recording artists, having sold 120 million records worldwide. She is the first solo artist to have their first six studio albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200.

Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the "Queen of Soul". With global sales of over 75 million records, Franklin is one of the world’s best-selling music artists.

“Seems to me it ain’t the world that’s so bad but what we’re doing to it, and all I’m saying is: see what a wonderful world it would be if only we’d give it a chance. Love, baby – love. That’s the secret.”

“The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.”

“You have to be real with yourself. No one is doing that. People are too concerned with making everything look nice and calm and pretty.”

“People who have no creativity, talent, or courage are the ones who follow the rules. Be brave, be bold, step up and make your own! The passion that lies inside of you means you don’t need to follow the pack, because you transcend it.”

“You don’t have to be fearless to do anything; you can be scared out of your mind. I fear that I won’t get better and that I won’t have time to practice. To be called a ‘jazz musician’ – it’s a big responsibility.”

“I am trying to show the world that we are all human beings and that color is not important. What is important is the quality of our work.”

“I don’t listen to what art critics say. I don’t know anybody who needs a critic to find out what art is.”

“My belief is that it is most important for an artist to develop an approach and philosophy about life – if he has developed this philosophy, he does not put paint on canvas, he puts himself on canvas.”

“What does dance give you? The freedom to be who you are and do what you want to do.”

“Success, for me, is staying true to who you are and not deviating off a path.”

“Through color, I have sought to concentrate on beauty and happiness, rather than on man’s inhumanity to man.”

“It’s a hard job to get the camera to see it like you see it. Sometimes you have it just the way you want it, and then you look in the camera and you don’t have the balance. The main thing is to get the camera to see it the way you see it.”

“Art is about changing what we see in our everyday lives and representing it in such a way that it gives us hope.”

“There’s no diploma in the world that declares you as an artist—it’s not like becoming a doctor. You can declare yourself an artist and then figure out how to be an artist.”

Viola Davis is an American actress and producer. The recipient of an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, she is the first African-American to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting.

“There have been so many people who have said to me, ‘You can’t do that,’ but I’ve had an innate belief that they were wrong. Be unwavering and relentless in your approach.”

“Dr. Martin Luther King is not a black hero. He is an American hero.”

“Science is not a boy’s game, it’s not a girl’s game. It’s everyone’s game. It’s about where we are and where we’re going. Space travel benefits us here on Earth. And we ain’t stopped yet. There’s more exploration to come.”

“The things we truly love stay with us always, locked in our hearts as long as life remains.”

“My beauty is not about how I look. My beauty is about my heart and soul.”

“Forgiveness works two ways, in most instances. People have to forgive themselves too. The powerful have to forgive themselves for their behavior. That should be a sacred process.”

“Success is a moving goal post. You celebrate in those moments and then look at what’s next…and how I can do it better than I did before.”

“Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too.”

“Goals on the road to achievement cannot be achieved without discipline and consistency.”

“We will not forget our instincts for freedom nor our love for our country.”

“You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.”

“One thing is clear to me: We, as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves.”

“Darkness cannot overcome darkness, only light can do that. Violence can never overcome violence, only peace can do that. Hate can never overcome hate, only love can do that.”

“Until we all start to take responsibility, until we do all we can to improve the character of our communities, we’ll never break the cycle of violence and indifference.”

“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.”

“To go would be to honor the president and I don’t think he deserves to be honored at this time, after being so hateful towards black people and then black countries.”

“If you can maintain that integrity in whatever you do, you can’t go wrong. That’s what I tell my kids, anyway.”

“We change people through conversation, not through censorship.”

“If you can be the best, then why not try to be the best?”

A chemist and entrepreneur, Annie Turnbo Malone became a millionaire by successfully developing and marketing hair products for black women in St. Louis. She used her wealth to promote the advancement of African Americans and gave away most of her money to charity.

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough”

“I am not satisfied in making money for myself. I endeavor to provide employment for hundreds of the women of my race.”