Inspirational African Quotes & Sayings

NEVER GO TO SLEEP KNOWING THE SAME THING YOU KNEW THE NIGHT BEFORE! — Qwana M. BabyGirl Reynolds-Frasier

Any woman with kinky textured hair - can wear it, love it and manage it. She only needs the right tools, inspiration and motivation. — Monica Millner

We may differ in the language we speak, yet we all remain children of the land. — John Okechukwu Munonye

i have been told many times by family, friends, colleagues and strangers that I, a black African Muslim lesbian, am not included in this vision; that my dreams are a reflection of my upbringing in a decadent, amoral Western society that has corrupted who I really am. But who am I, really? Am I allowed to speak for myself or must my desires form the battleground for causes I do not care about? My answer to that is simple: 'no one allows anyone anything.' By rejecting that notion you discover that only you can give yourself permission on how to lead your life, naysayers be damned. In the end something gives way. The earth doesn't move but something shifts. That shift is change and change is the layman's lingo for that elusive state that lovers, dreamers, prophets and politicians call 'freedom'. — Diriye Osman

I knew that I lived in a country in which the aspirations of black people were limited, marked-off. Yet I felt that I had to go somewhere and do something to redeem my being alive. — Richard Wright

If everyone helps to hold up the sky, then one person does not become tired. — Askhari Johnson Hodari

When the drum beat comes to an end, you shall not hear the drum beat again, but you shall remember how it sounded, and you shall understand clearly how you should or should not have danced to the drum beat — Ernest Agyemang Yeboah

Dealing with pain for surviving on this thirsty concrete — Kjiva

I don't strive on being the most beautiful woman in the room! I strive to be the most unique! The one who stands out, the one you will never forget. — Sahndra Fon Dufe

WHEN YOU FOLLOW THE WAYS OF YOUR ANCESTORS YOU WILL NEVER BE LOST.

LET YOUR ANCESTORS BE YOUR GUIDING LIGHT. — Qwana M. BabyGirl Reynolds-Frasier

PEOPLE DIE
THEIR ENERGY DON'T! — Qwana M. BabyGirl Reynolds-Frasier

In an earlier stage of our development most human groups held to a tribal ethic. Members of the tribe were protected, but people of other tribes could be robbed or killed as one pleased. Gradually the circle of protection expanded, but as recently as 150 years ago we did not include blacks. So African human beings could be captured, shipped to America, and sold. In Australia white settlers regarded Aborigines as a pest and hunted them down, much as kangaroos are hunted down today. Just as we have progressed beyond the blatantly racist ethic of the era of slavery and colonialism, so we must now progress beyond the speciesist ethic of the era of factory farming, of the use of animals as mere research tools, of whaling, seal hunting, kangaroo slaughter, and the destruction of wilderness. We must take the final step in expanding the circle of ethics. - — Peter Singer

Names are powerful and are prophecies of the future. The name you are called is a sign of what you are and what you would become. — Jude Idada

Don't let anyone rob you of hope. — Pope Francis

YOU ARE NOT A FINISHED WORK OF ART
YOU ARE A COMMISSIONED WORK IN PROGRESS
HANGING IN A GALLERY UNDER CONSTRUCTION!


KEEP PUSHING! — Qwana M. BabyGirl Reynolds-Frasier

DON'T BE SO PREPARED FOR THE BATTLE,
TO THE POINT YOU FIND YOURSELF UNPREPARED FOR THE VICTORY!

WHEN YOU TRULY BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, YOU PREPARE FOR IT ALL! — Qwana M. BabyGirl Reynolds-Frasier

What a mighty nation, we will be, if we encourage one another? — Lailah Gifty Akita

The feeling, all encompassing, safe and warm like a blanket permanently draped over her shoulders, follows her around. She takes it into the shower, to meals with her mother and sister, to work as she reads out the news script, her voice never faltering. — Zainab Omaki

The African Challenge - We must end conflict in Africa. We must lead to allow the Africans to enjoy the benefits from their natural resources. We must end poverty in Africa. Every African must be educated, have access to health care and a fair chance to fulfil their dream. Preventable sickness and disease must not reduce life expectancy or rob pregnant women of a chance to continue living. Africa must develop. Africa must not depend on foreign aid. Africa must be united and governed more effectively. Africa must customize her leadership culture and philosophy in a way that gives her global relevance and respect but still remain true and authentic to herself. Will you accept the challenge? Will you be that Africa? — Archibald Marwizi

In those sticky summer nights in South London our windows stay open and our tiny apartment becomes our secret garden. The magic of the secret garden is that it exists in our imagination. There are no limits, no borderlines. The secret garden leads to the marigolds of Mogadishu and the magnolias of Kingston and when the heat turns us sticky and sweet and unwilling to be claimed by defeat we own the night. We own our bodies. We own our lives. — Diriye Osman

I shall never forget the African torture victim, a young man no older than I was at the time, who had become mentally ill after all he had endured in his homeland. He trembled uncontrollably as he spoke into a video camera about the brutality inflicted upon him. He was a foot taller than I was, and seemed as fragile as a child. I was given the job of escorting him back to the Underground Station afterwards, and this man whose life had been shattered by cruelty took my hand with exquisite courtesy, and wished me future happiness. — J.K. Rowling

L-EVELS
O-F
V-ARYING
E-MOTIONS


BEING IN LOVE IS ALWAYS A
COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP! — Qwana M. BabyGirl Reynolds-Frasier

Depression is like being under house arrest, only there is no house. — Lisa Eley

The times today are too dangerous for the young and the smart to be not bothered. Know the truth. Remember, "We can deny the truth. But, we can't avoid it." We have been there; we have all been there. Ask a female friend who is fighting for a better pay scale, ask the father of an immigrant who is nervous about the future of his daughter, ask a gay friend who is fighting for the right to marry, ask an African-American friend who wants her younger brother to be unafraid and proud, ask a homeless worker in Bangladesh whose house just got swept by rising sea levels, ask a young child in Beijing who breathes an air polluted by fossil fuels, ask a child labor in India who works ten hours and twelve hours to get two square meals a day. And, when you ask, you will know. You will know why we need to take it personally. — Sharad Vivek Sagar

Education for women is something that has plagued the world for a very long time. When I saw this problem firsthand, I knew I had to write about it. — Sahndra Fon Dufe

When we rise in the morning ... at the table we drink coffee which is provided to us by a South American, or tea by a Chinese, or cocoa by a West African; before we leave for our jobs we are already beholden to more than half the world. — Martin Luther King Jr.

I don't trust people who don't love themselves and tell me, 'I love you.' ... There is an African saying which is: Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt. — Maya Angelou

I again flourished my papers: "Here're my credentials from the Coalition Administration."
The American scrutinized the papers, shook his head in amazement, and smiled. "A South African," he said. "You're sure a long way from home." He radioed through for instructions and indicated that I should bring my hired car up to the side of the roadblock and wait. — Lawrence Anthony

Our mistreatment was just not right, and I was tired of it. — Rosa Parks

For poetry and I are one
To separate is to decapitate
For my poetry is forever. — Kerry D. Brackett

A MAN ON A CANE STILL STANDS ON HIS OWN TWO FEET! — Qwana M. BabyGirl Reynolds-Frasier

But how wonderful when the tale is told,
And the message that is meant for us
Opens like the scents of a mountain flower! — Mazisi Kunene