African American Books Quotes & Sayings

I had never read a book written by an African-American. I didn't know that black people could write books. I didn't know that blacks had done any great things. I was always conscious of my inferiority and I always remembered my place - until the Civil Rights Movement came to the town where I was born and grew up. — Endesha Ida Mae Holland

I do think there is a sort of natural balance in nature between men and women, and that it's being thrown off-balance by the social and economic inequities between men and women. — Natalie Portman

Before attempting to create something new, it is vital to have a good appreciation of everything that already exists in this field. — Mikhail Kalashnikov

I did become homesick, and whenever that happened, I'd hide away in the school library, where the books filled rows and rows of shelves. I'd find a chair and study my lesson books in geography, social studies, biology, and math. I'd lose myself in American and African history, and within the colorful maps of the world. No matter how foreign and lonely the world was outside, the books always reminded me of home, sitting under the mango tree. — William Kamkwamba

I've tried to be inclusive in my '2B' series. Over the course of three books, I wrote African-American characters, a paraplegic character, gay and lesbian characters, a bisexual, Jewish heroine, a multiracial hero, Korean and Chinese-American characters, and a multiracial supporting character. — Ann Aguirre

If Americans are frustrated with Congress, imagine their frustration with a group of international bank officials running our ecomomy-bankers who may not have as their motive either to see us out of debt to them or to strengthen our economy, society, international influence, or other elements of our way of life. — Oliver DeMille

So, the kind of precious memories about being black for my generation won't exist for my kids' and grandkids' generations unless we preserve them through fiction, through film, through comic books, and every other form of media we can possibly utilize to perpetuate the story of the great African-American people. — Henry Louis Gates

You can take away my anger, my fear, my fury, even my pain, but I could never live with myself if I'm not the one to bring that demon to justice. You're all the family I have left, Serwa, and I pledged myself to you when I was a man-child of twenty-one years. Now, as a man of centuries, that responsibility hasn't changed. If anything, it's only gotten stronger. — N.D. Jones

Never Let anyone tell you that you can't; show them that you can. — Gloria Mallette

Where there is darkness, let me be the light. Where there is suffering, let me be kind and compassionate. — Debasish Mridha

She said I was a monster, and for a long time I believed her. But you made me feel like a man, someone worthy of being loved. Then you went away, and I had nothing, nothing but a
hopeless demon inside. — N.D. Jones

Black children need to see their lives reflected in the books they read. If they don't, they won't feel welcome in the world of literature. The lives of African-Americans are rich and diverse, and the books our children read should reflect that. — Valerie Wilson Wesley

The beauty of the written word is that it can be held close to the heart and read over and over again. — Florence Littauer

Don't ask me about prayer rocks
Anyplace I put my head is a prayer rock.
Don't talk of direction
All six directions face Him.
Gardens, flames, nightingale,
whirling dance, and brotherhood
Throw all these away
and throw yourself into His love. — Rumi

God tries his votaries through and through but never beyond endurance. He gives them strength enough to go through the ordeal he prescribes for them. — Mahatma Gandhi

I've never seen anyone as beautiful as you, sweetheart. All supple and voluptuous, a mountain of curves I can't wait to climb. — N.D. Jones

It [the Harlem Renaissance] was a time of black individualism, a time marked by a vast array of characters whose uniqueness challenged the traditional inability of white Americans to differentiate between blacks. — Clement Alexander Price

Teachers and librarians can be the most effective advocates for diversifying children's and young adult books. When I speak to publishers, they're going to expect me to say that I would love to see more books by Native American authors and African-American authors and Arab-American authors. But when a teacher or librarian says this to publishers, it can have a profound effect. — Pat Mora

If I'm moving too fast or coming on too hard... — N.D. Jones