W.E.B. Du Bois

"A man's success is measured not by the position he has reached but by the obstacles he has overcome."

"Work is a blessing. God has made work the price of all things."

"The world was thinking wrong about women. Women were not made to be slaves."

"The price of truth is eternal vigilance."

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."

"I want to surround myself with those who will tell me the truth."

"Progress means facing the future without the shackles of the past."

"The slave went free; stood a moment in the sun; then moved back again into slavery."

"To draw inspiration from the examples of great leaders is to grasp the essence of leadership."

"The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them."

"By education and work the Negro is to rise, and circumstances over which he has no control shall aid in his elevation."

"The test of civilization is the kind of man the country turns out."

"I sit with Shakespeare and he winces not at my ignorance."

"The great gift of the Negro to America has been the gift of sorrow."

"We live surrounded by a world of ghosts."

"The souls of Black folk deserve respect and dignity."

"There is no greater tragedy than the loss of human potential."

"A line of argument often pursued is that the condition of the colored people has improved since emancipation."

"The object of all art is the elevation of the human soul."

"I believe in Democracy. I do not believe in the Democracy which lynch Negroes in Texas."

"The secret of knowing how to get the best from people is to appeal to the highest motives."

"The study of the Negro has, so far, been more a matter of sentiment than of science."

"Let us not forget that we are not fighting for the benefit of ourselves alone."

"I had sought in that great book to follow the paths of those who had gone before."

"The proper education of a child recognizes the whole child—mind, body, and spirit."

"No nation has ever achieved lasting progress through violence and oppression."

"The Veil separates the Negro from full participation in American life."

"I love this people; I love its strivings, its sorrows, and its dreams."

"Negro history should be a weapon of liberation."

"True democracy requires an educated and informed citizenry."