Booker T. Washington

"Character, not circumstances, makes the man."

"Agitation of questions of social equality is the extremist folly."

"Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow's reality."

"A man is not finished when he is defeated; he is finished when he quits."

"The individual who can do something that the world wants done will, in the end, make his way regardless of his race."

"Hate is a consuming fire that destroys the vessel in which it burns."

"The Negro youth must be made to feel that if he fails, he fails not alone, but fails his race and his community."

"Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."

"Make your mistakes your teachers, not your masters."

"The great majority of the Negro race understand that their future is bound up with the improvement and development of this country."

"I would rather lose in a cause that will ultimately triumph than to triumph in a cause that will ultimately fail."

"Common sense is the best guide in determining the proper course of action."

"A man who has nothing that he is willing to sacrifice for is not truly free."

"The individual who owns the soil also owns the independence and power that come with it."

"Most people measure their success by what others have done; true success comes from within."

"One cannot be at the same time a student and a skeptic. Learning requires an open mind."

"The opportunity to earn a dollar in a factory just now is worth infinitely more than the opportunity to spend a dollar in an opera-house."

"I have learned that the individuals who exert the greatest influence are those who serve others willingly."

"Whatever success I have achieved has been based upon these simple qualities: honesty, fair dealing, and hard work."

"The Negro in America must learn to recognize the hand that helps him, and to show genuine gratitude."

"Few things will help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him."

"I believe it is the duty of the Negro to deport himself modestly in all things, and in this way to win respect."

"The highest and most divine office a man can hold is the office of teacher."

"Advancement for the Negro means going forward; compromise often means standing still."

"There is a law of gravitation that applies to success: what goes up must come down unless there is a constant effort to maintain it."

"The individual who refuses to accept a defeat is the individual who will ultimately achieve victory."

"I make myself what I am by the way I think. Thoughts precede actions."

"The great teacher is not the one who simply imparts information, but one who touches the heart and inspires the soul."

"Success means nothing unless it brings with it the knowledge that I have deserved it."

"The Negro in America must learn to appreciate his opportunities and to improve them."