William Julius Wilson Quotes

Learn to love being black.

Black Consciousness is an attitude of the mind and a way of life, the most positive call to emanate from the black world for a long time.

Every February, we reflect on and honor the achievements, struggles, and icons that comprise Black history. As a proud, Black man running for office and raising two young, Black boys in the South, I am acutely aware that I stand on the shoulders of giants.

When you say that you are a race man, it means that you embrace the entire black community regardless of the hue, whether somebody is very light and could pass for possibly white or someone is very dark.

I'm a black American, I am proud of my race. I am proud of who I am. I have a lot of pride and dignity.

I think Black people need to take self-esteem seriously.

I celebrate my blackness. I love the artistic vibrancy of the culture I was born to.

I love being black.

I feel good being a black woman; I've always felt good.

Supporting black professional athletes was taken seriously in my home.

Black excellence is a thing. People - from Beyonce Knowles to Venus and Serena Williams to folks you haven't heard of - are into it. It's less a movement than a standard: believers set the bar high not only for themselves but also for others who share their vision, especially when it pertains to black history, stories, and style.

Malcolm X never renounced and never stepped away from a strong commitment to black nationalism and black self-determination. That's absolutely clear if you do any analysis of his speeches.

The Black skin is not a badge of shame, but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness.

As for my support for Obama, remember that I was brought up in Washington. It was an all-black city when I was a kid. And I've always been very pro-African-American - or whatever phrase we now use.

My black brothers and sisters - of all religious beliefs, or of no religious beliefs - we all have in common the greatest binding tie we could have. We are all black people!

There is a perception within our community and the world that black people don't love each other. That we don't fight for each other. That perception is so dangerous. We need positive images to counter the negative portrayals we see every day. And positive doesn't mean perfect. Perfect is boring.

Barack Obama makes me feel good to be a black man.

Black history is American history.

What is blackness? Is it the way you talk? Do you got to say, 'Dey this, dey dat.' Or the way you dress? Or is it the forgiving of certain things? What is black enough?

My number one priority is to save the Black man.

The Negro needs a Nation and a country of his own, where he can best show evidence of his ability in the art of human progress. Scattered as an unmixed and unrecognized part of alien nations and civilizations is but to demonstrate his imbecility, and point him out as an unworthy derelict, fit neither for the society of Greek, Jew nor Gentile.

We must canonize our own saints, create our own martyrs … black men and women who have made their distinct contributions to our racial history.

I've always said that: 'We as black people, if you want respect, you have to give each other respect.' You can't demand respect from white people and the cops if we don't respect each other.

African-Americans have a lot to teach the world.

I'm black because I was born this way. I'm proud of it. Thank God I am who I am.