W.E.B. Du Bois

"Until we have learned to regard the black man as our equal, we cannot call ourselves civilized."

"In my opinion, the Negro race has not yet developed the man of the highest type."

"I love the pure, concentrated essence of human beauty."

"The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line."

"I believe it is the duty of the Negro, as the greatest problem of America, to refuse to accept discrimination."

"The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife."

"Education must not simply teach work—it must teach life."

"The Negro race, like all races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men."

"Beware of the tyranny of the minority who think they know what is best for the majority."

"Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient season."

"The cost of living does not include the cost of life."

"I sit with Shakespeare and he winces not."

"It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others."

"The worker who creates should receive the reward for their creation."

"Seek the truth and the truth shall set you free."

"Children learn more from what you are than what you teach."

"The object of education is to make you useful to the world."

"A little less complaint and whining, and a little more dogged work and manly striving."

"Of all the civil rights for which the world has struggled and fought for 5,000 years, the right to learn is the most fundamental."

"The very first requirement in a democracy is an honest ballot and a fair count."

"Believe in life! Always human beings will live and progress to greater, broader, and fuller lives."

"The Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil."

"Knowledge alone is not enough; we must apply it."

"The Negro church is the peculiar institution of the Negro people."

"I believe in the Negro race; in the beauty of its genius, and the sweetness of its soul."

"To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious, is to be in a state of rage almost all the time."

"We should not accept crumbs when we deserve the whole loaf."

"The talented tenth of the Negro race should be given the best education possible."

"Science and truth know no color line."

"The music of the Negro is the most beautiful expression of human emotion so far elicited in America."