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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

It isn’t a disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Goal Life Reaching Stars
Man is what his dreams are.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Desire Dream Men
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
The tragedy of this life is not failure, but low aim.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Life Lows Tragedy
The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream…It is not a disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for. Not failure, but low aim is sin.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Dream Lying Stars
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

Art Boys Halfway Normal White
It is not your environment, it is you- the quality of your mind, the integrity of your soul and the determination of your will that will decide your future and shape your life.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Determination Integrity Soul
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
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
I believe everyone is born into the world to do something unique and distinctive.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Believe Life Unique
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
The circumference of life cannot be rightly drawn until the center is set.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Center Circumstances Drawn Set
Failure isn’t in not reaching your goal but in having no goal to reach.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Goal Reaching Swimming
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
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

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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