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

Center Circumstances Drawn Set
You have the ability, now apply yourself.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Ability Apply Yourself
[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
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
Honest communication is built on truth and integrity and upon respect of the one for the other.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Communication Honest Integrity
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
It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Goals Dreams Lying Mind
Failure isn’t in not reaching your goal but in having no goal to reach.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

Goal Reaching Swimming
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
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
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
A child must learn early to believe that she is somebody worthwhile, and that she can do many praiseworthy things.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

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

Call Communication Hardly
It isn’t more light we need, it isn’t more truth, and it isn’t more scientific data. It is more Christ, more courage, more spiritual insight to act on the light we have.
BENJAMIN E. MAYS

God Light Spiritual
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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