Famous African American Quotes That Will Move You Today

Quotes have the power to compress truth, courage, and wisdom into a single line that can lift your spirit, refocus your goals, or steady you in hard moments. Use these famous quotes by African Americans when you need motivation to act, inspiration to keep going, words to share with others, or reminders of resilience and hope.

Motivational quotes

• "If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl...but by all means keep moving." — Martin Luther King Jr.
• "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." — Arthur Ashe
• "If there is no struggle, there is no progress." — Frederick Douglass
• "I am deliberate and afraid of nothing." — Audre Lorde
• "If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress." — Barack Obama

Inspirational quotes

• "I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." — Martin Luther King Jr.
• "You are your best thing." — Toni Morrison
• "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." — Maya Angelou
• "When they go low, we go high." — Michelle Obama
• "If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." — Toni Morrison

Life wisdom quotes

• "I've learned that people will forget what you said... but they'll never forget how you made them feel." — Maya Angelou
• "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." — James Baldwin
• "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." — Maya Angelou
• "There are years that ask questions and years that answer." — Zora Neale Hurston
• "Each person must live their life as a model for others." — Rosa Parks

Success & leadership quotes

• "Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached...but by the obstacles which he has overcome." — Booker T. Washington
• "Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it." — Malcolm X
• "The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically... Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education." — Martin Luther King Jr.
• "If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair." — Shirley Chisholm
• "Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth." — Muhammad Ali

Courage & justice quotes

• "I had no idea that history was being made. I was just tired of giving up." — Rosa Parks
• "Ain't I a woman?" — Sojourner Truth
• "I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept." — Angela Davis
• "Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble." — John Lewis
• "If you're not ready to die for it, put the word 'freedom' out of your vocabulary." — Malcolm X

Daily inspiration & happiness quotes

• "My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion..." — Maya Angelou
• "The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams." — Oprah Winfrey
• "Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly." — Langston Hughes
• "Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations." — Mae Jemison
• "Don't count the days; make the days count." — Muhammad Ali

Quotes can be short sparks or long beacons—both can transform how you think, act, and feel. Return to these lines when you need clarity, courage, or comfort; share them to uplift others; and let them shape a more resilient, hopeful daily life.