Steven Biko Quotes

When faced with a decision, many people say they are waiting for God. But I understand, in most cases, God is waiting for me.

For one cannot assume that God exists to help people who are too cowardly and too lazy to help themselves and think that God exists only to make up for the weakness of mankind. He does not exist for that purpose. He has always, at all times, blessed only those who were prepared to fight their own battles.

Every people should be originators of their own destiny.

Before, Indian people had been so defeated, they were always looking for outsiders, for the government, to somehow come in and fix things. But now, they seem to realize that they're the only ones who can save themselves.

A Black man should be more independent and depend on himself for his freedom and not to take it for granted that someone would lead him to it. The blacks are tired of standing at the touchlines to witness a game that they should be playing. They want to do things for themselves and all by themselves.

Not one person can make or break what I'm doing, except me or God.

You have to start looking in the mirror and saying, 'this is who I am, this is what I am and this is how I'm going to be' and start demanding more from yourself. In spite of everything that this system has thrown at us, we still have to live at the end of the day. We still have to find purpose and find ways to prosper and make a profit so you have to find ways to stand on your own two feet and fulfill your potential as a black man or black woman on this planet no matter how marginalized or oppressed you may be.

Doing for people what they can and ought to do for themselves is a dangerous experiment.

God helps those who cannot help themselves.

There may be fairies, there may be elves, but God helps those who help themselves.

Let's stop all of this foolishness and come together as a people or we will deserve the chastisement of God that is about to come down. Especially on the rich and the professional well-educated Black person who could make a way in the desert for our people, but you're so tied to your slavemasters and their children. You don't want to leave them nor do you want to lead your people into doing something for self. We're at the end of it now.

One must pray first, but afterwards one must help oneself. God does not care for cowards.

To counter the fixation on a rhetoric of victimhood, black folks must engage in a discourse of self-determination.

Freedon succeeds from the moment people stop looking to others to improve their lives and start taking responsibility.

I think that you're just as close to Jesus if you use the equipment he gave you other than to call on him to do for you what you can do for yourself.

I think it is astounding that people could argue for "you just must trust someone else to fix it" instead of "you could fix it yourself, or hire someone to fix it." There is a contractor base out there that can solve these problems as well as or better than the major vendors could. But I think the major vendors are still having more luck at getting the ear of the press.

Doing for people what they can and ought to do for themselves is a dangerous experiment. In the last analysis, the welfare of the workers depends upon their own initiative. Whatever is done under the guise of philanthropy or social morality which in any way lessens initiative is the greatest crime that can be committed against the toilers. Let social busybodies and professional "public morals experts" in their fads reflect upon the perils they rashly invite under this pretense of social welfare.

You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

People around the world just want self-respect. They want to take care of themselves, they want to pay for their own bills, they want to take care of their families.

The new Black doesn't blame other races for our issues.

I want people to provide for themselves.

We must realise that prophetic cry of black students: Black man you are on your own!

I'm all about owning your life.

Control your own destiny! Control your own destiny!

I can look after myself and my own.