Maya Angelou

TheDailyBeast: Voices of Black History

"The needs of society determine its ethics, and in the black American ghettos the hero is the one who is offered only crumbs from his country’s table but by ingenuity and courage is able to take for himself a Lucullan feast. Hence, the janitor who lives in one room but sports a robin’s-egg-blue Cadillac is not laughed at but admired, and the domestic who buys forty-dollar shoes is not criticized but appreciated." -Maya Angelou (1928–), writer, civil-rights activist

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Nine Great American Gay Writers

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Memorable Quotes...

Perhaps it’s easiest to think of Black History Month as just another moment to acknowledge that freedom isn’t free, like the Fourth of July or Memorial Day. When Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963, and declared,

“In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the ‘unalienable Rights’ of ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’ It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’ ”

King codified, for once and for all, the need inherent in democracy to hold America to its promises. So though we usually associate Black History Month with recalling the historic plight of African Americans, it is really for all of us. Consider then, the following quotes not as an homage to black history, but as a call to duty, one that all citizens, no matter their hue, can and should heed.

By: Raina Kelley

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Nine Great American Gay Writers

Elton John’s Nastiest Star Feuds

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Langston Hughes

"I will not take ‘but’ for an answer. Negroes have been looking at democracy’s ‘but’ too long." -Langston Hughes (1902–1967), writer, social activist

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Nine Great American Gay Writers

Elton John’s Nastiest Star Feuds

Too Young to be Sexy?

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Malcolm X

"My father didn’t know his real name. My father got his name from his grandfather, and he got his name from his grandfather, and he got it from the slave master." -Malcolm X (1925–1965), minister, civil-rights activist

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Nine Great American Gay Writers

Elton John’s Nastiest Star Feuds

Too Young to be Sexy?

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Paul Robeson

"My father was a slave, and my people died to build this country, and I’m going to stay right here and have a part of it, just like you. And no fascist-minded people like you will drive me from it. Is that clear?" -Paul Robeson (1898–1976), singer, actor, social activist

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Nine Great American Gay Writers

Elton John’s Nastiest Star Feuds

Too Young to be Sexy?

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Muhammad Ali

"I am America. I am the part you won’t recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me." -Muhammad Ali (1942–), world heavyweight champion boxer

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Nine Great American Gay Writers

Elton John’s Nastiest Star Feuds

Too Young to be Sexy?

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Maya Angelou

See the Full Story at The Daily Beast

Nine Great American Gay Writers

Elton John’s Nastiest Star Feuds

Too Young to be Sexy?

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Spike Lee

"We’ve gone through the names—Negro, African American, African, Black. For me that’s an indication of a people still trying to find their identity. Who determines what is black?" -Spike Lee (1957–), filmmaker

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Nine Great American Gay Writers

Elton John’s Nastiest Star Feuds

Too Young to be Sexy?

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Billie Holiday

"You can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation." -Billie Holiday (1915–1959), jazz singer

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