Black individuals have historically faced unique challenges in their pursuit of success. Yet, they have consistently demonstrated resilience, determination, and brilliance. Their words offer profound insights into the nature of success, often emphasizing the importance of overcoming adversity, perseverance, and community.
Black Quotes About Success
1. “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.”
— Booker T. Washington
2. “I will not have my life narrowed down. I will not bow down to somebody else’s whim or to someone else’s ignorance.”
— Alice Walker
3. “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”
— Maya Angelou
4. “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
— Frederick Douglass
5. “Whatever we believe about ourselves and our ability comes true for us.”
— Susan L. Taylor
6. “Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get, you’ve got to make yourself.”
— Alice Walker
7. “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.”
— Langston Hughes
8. “You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.”
— Shirley Chisholm
9. “I had no idea that history was being made. I was just tired of giving up.”
— Rosa Parks
10. “You have to believe in yourself when no one else does—that makes you a winner right there.”
— Venus Williams
11. “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
— Harriet Tubman
12. “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
— Maya Angelou
13. “I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.”
— Madam C.J. Walker
14. “Success is not about the end result, it’s about what you learn along the way.”
— Vera Wang
15. “The time is always right to do what is right.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
16. “Success doesn’t come to you; you’ve got to go to it.”
— Marva Collins
17. “Do not bring people in your life who weigh you down. And trust your instincts—good relationships feel good. They feel right. They don’t hurt.”
— Oprah Winfrey
18. “I am deliberate and afraid of nothing.”
— Audre Lorde
19. “Strive for that greatness of spirit that measures life not by its disappointments but by its possibilities.”
— W.E.B. Du Bois
20. “Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.”
— Zig Ziglar
21. “We must never forget that Black History is American History. The achievements of African Americans have contributed to our nation’s greatness.”
— Yvette Clarke
22. “You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.”
— Shirley Chisholm
23. “Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.”
— Oprah Winfrey
24. “The very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being.”
— Toni Morrison
25. “Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.”
— Marianne Williamson
26. “Success is when I add value to myself. Significance is when I add value to others.”
— John C. Maxwell
27. “It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.”
— Lena Horne
28. “Excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism.”
— Oprah Winfrey
29. “You have to know who you are and what you are. It’s the only way to lead and succeed.”
— Keisha Lance Bottoms
30. “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
