Booker T. Washington

"Let us be as careful of the life and reputation of the Negro as we are of the life and reputation of the white man."

"Soap and water cost something, but they pay for themselves and make a good investment."

"I would say to the members of my race who are disposed to agree with me in these views; that the time may not be far distant when the whole South will recognize the wisdom of the course which I am pursuing."

"If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else."

"I believe it is the duty of the Negro, as the greater part of the people of African descent are American citizens, to study carefully the history, achievements, and possibilities of his own race as well as that of other races."

"The Negro should not be deprived by unfair means of the franchise, one of his rights as a freeman and a citizen."

"We must be willing to pay the price for the privileges of a position in the front rank of any competition."

"The most common and constant cause of the failure of individuals, races, and nations, lies in the lack of self-respect."

"Ability to do something is not talent; talent is the capacity to develop the ability."

"Negro education should not, in any sense, create an aristocracy or breed of superior persons. Its object should be to make strong, helpful, effective men and women."

"At the foundation of every noble work we find labor, not chance. The foundation of every noble life is placed in patient and constant toil."

"The man who makes no mistakes does not try new things."

"In my opinion, the time has not yet come when the wearing of evening dress in the South is advisable for men of my race under all circumstances."

"Success is not measured by the heights that a man has climbed, but by the obstacles he has overcome in his rise to prominence."

"If the Negro is to rise, he must rise through his own efforts and achievements."

"There is a law that governs the development of every creature—a law that operates in the growth of a plant, an animal, and a human being."

"The individual who can solve the problems that face his community or nation is a man much needed and much wanted."

"A race or a nation has no right to ignore the opinion of reasonable and intelligent people, regardless of their color."

"The Negro has a right to demand and to receive political recognition in proportion to his importance and his needs."

"Education should not be the exclusive privilege of a few, but a birthright of all."

"Every man or woman who has achieved success has had to overcome enormous obstacles."

"The thing that has so often handicapped the Negro is that he has found it too easy to lean upon the kind sympathy of white people."

"A ship lost at sea for many days suddenly sighted a friendly vessel."

"The moment a person joins an organization, he surrenders a part of his liberty to that organization."

"It is at the bottom that we must begin, not at the top."

"The Negro must demand and receive absolute justice, nothing more and nothing less."

"Through patient labor and perseverance, mountains are tunneled and rivers are spanned."

"I have no sympathy with what may be called the 'color line' sentiment."

"The main duty of the Negro race is to develop its own resources and possibilities."

"Advancement of the Negro cannot be accomplished without the help of white men of good will."