Booker T. Washington

"Manual labor should not be degraded or looked upon with shame; rather it should be honored."

"My whole career at Tuskegee has been, in a sense, a struggle against the narrowness and the prejudices of my own race."

"The moment a man begins to make himself a center of influence, he influences all in his radius."

"Every man should acquire a trade or a profession that will enable him to earn a decent living."

"In all my efforts, I have sought to put into my people's hands the tools by which they may secure their own freedom and independence."

"The Negro in America is at a critical turning point in his history."

"I wish to see my people in a position where they can work out their own destiny."

"The Negro must be ready to take advantage of every opportunity to develop himself."

"It is upon the foundations of righteousness and virtue that all true progress must rest."

"The slave is not free; neither is the master free so long as there is slavery."

"In acquiring knowledge of facts, the student should be taught to think and to reason, not merely to memorize."

"The individual who cannot master himself will find it impossible to master others or circumstances."

"Success is not a matter of luck but of preparation meeting opportunity."

"I would urge all colored people to remember that there is no permanent progress unless there is permanent character."

"The greatest injury that one man can do to another is to deprive him of the opportunity to learn."

"Every man should be proud of his work, no matter how humble it may be."

"The Negro must learn to put brain into his work, not merely his hands."

"In the matter of race relations, it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."

"No man can hold another man down without himself remaining down."

"I believe in the ultimate triumph of the right, the victory of truth over falsehood."

"The opportunity to work is the opportunity to live."

"An educated and wise Negro is the greatest asset that any nation can possess."

"The time will come when the Negro race will be respected not for what is given to it but for what it accomplishes."

"Knowledge gained is an investment that pays the best dividend."

"The race must learn to make itself indispensable to the community in which it lives."

"I have always advocated that colored people should own land, acquire property, and establish businesses."

"The Negro must learn to depend upon himself, not upon the charity of others."

"True education means more than the mere acquisition of certain knowledge; it means character building."

"In the future the colored people will have to work out their own salvation."

"The individual who cannot respect himself will find it impossible to gain the respect of others."