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In this perilous world, if a black boy wanted to live a halfway normal life and die a natural death he had to learn early the art of how to get along with white folks.

Benjamin E. Mays

You have the ability, now apply yourself.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Ability Apply Yourself
The tragedy of life is not found in failure but complacency. Not in you doing too much, but doing too little. Not in you living above your means, but below your capacity. It’s not failure but aiming too low, that is life’s greatest tragedy.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Leadership Mean Motivation
[H]owever hard the road, however difficult today, tomorrow things will be better. Tomorrow may not be better, but we must believe that it will be.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Believe May Today Tomorrow
Many well-meaning intelligent people have argued since the May 17, 1954, decision of the United States Supreme Court outlawing segregation in the public schools that communication between the races has broken down.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Communication Intelligent School
Honest communication is built on truth and integrity and upon respect of the one for the other.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Communication Honest Integrity
It is not a disaster to be unable to capture your ideal, but it is a disaster to have no ideal to capture.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Capture Disaster Ideals
Whatever you do,strive to do it so well that no man living and no man dead and no man yet to be born could do it any better.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Born Men Strive
I believe everyone is born into the world to do something unique and distinctive.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Believe Life Unique
If what is communicated is false, it can hardly be called communication.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Call Communication Hardly
Failure isn’t in not reaching your goal but in having no goal to reach.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Goal Reaching Swimming
For nearly a century, the South made itself believe that Negroes and white people were really communicating. So convinced of this were the white Southerners that they almost made the nation believe that they, and only they, knew the mind of the Southern Negro.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Believe People White
We, today, stand on the shoulders of our predecessors who have gone before us. We, as their successors, must catch the torch of freedom and liberty passed on to us by our ancestors. We cannot lose in this battle.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Battle Liberty Today
It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Calamity Dream Reaching Goals Stars
He who starts behind in the great race of life must forever remain behind or run faster than the man in front.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Men Race Running
The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Goal Lying Weight Loss
The tragedy of this life is not failure, but low aim.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Life Lows Tragedy

In this perilous world, if a black boy wanted to live a halfway normal life and die a natural death he had to learn early the art of how to get along with white folks.

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In this perilous world, if a black boy wanted to live a halfway normal life and die a natural death he had to learn early the art of how to get along with white folks.

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Popular Authors

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