“I pity from the bottom of my heart any nation or body of people that is so unfortunate as to get entangled in the net of slavery.”

You must understand the troubles of that man farthest down before you can help him.

Lay hold of something that will help you, and then use it to help somebody else.

It often requires more courage to suffer in silence than to rebel, more courage not to strike back than to retaliate, more courage to be silent than to speak.

If you can’t read, it’s going to be hard to realize dreams.

Success in life is founded upon attention to the small things rather than to the large things; to the every day things nearest to us rather than to the things that are remote and uncommon.

I have begun everything with the idea that I could succeed, and I never had much patience with the multitudes of people who are always ready to explain why one cannot succeed.

Those who have accomplished the greatest results are those who never grow excited or lose self-control, but are always calm, self-possessed, patient and polite.

You measure the size of the accomplishment by the obstacles you have to overcome to reach your goals.

Great men cultivate love, only little men cherish a spirit of hatred.

No race that has anything to contribute to the markets of the world is long in any degree ostracized.

The actual sight of a first-class house that a Negro has built is ten times more potent than pages of discussion about a house that he ought to build, or perhaps could build.

If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.

The happiest people are those who do the most for others. The most miserable are those who do the least.

No one can degrade us except ourselves.

We do not want the men of another color for our brothers-in-law, but we do want them for our brothers.

I shall never permit myself to stoop so low as to hate any man.

I’m not brave any more darling. I’m all broken. They’ve broken me.

The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

It’s easy to say I love you with your mouth. But I like when people say I love you with their heart.

If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear?

A pen went scribbling along. When it tried to write love, it broke.

Dance, when you’re broken open. Dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you’re perfectly free.

To give someone a piece of your heart, is worth more than all the wealth in the world.

Expectation is the root of all heartache.