Mary McLeod Bethune

“If we have the courage and tenacity of our forebears, who stood firmly like a rock against the lash of slavery, we shall find a way to do for our day what they did for theirs.”

“There is a place in God's sun for the youth "farthest down" who has the vision, the determination, and the courage to reach it.”

“I have had more than half a century of such happiness. A great deal of worry and sorrow, too, but never a worry or a sorrow that was not offset by a purple iris, a lark, a bluebird, or a dew...”

“Invest in the human soul. Who knows, it might be a diamond in the rough.”

“Knowledge is the prime need of the hour.”

“Cease to be a drudge, seek to be an artist.”

“Whatever glory belongs to the race for a development unprecedented in history for the given length of time, a full share belongs to the womanhood of the race.”

“From the first, I made my learning, what little it was, useful every way I could.”

“I never stop to plan. I take things step-by-step.”

“Faith is the first factor in a life devoted to service. Without it, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible.”

“The drums of Africa still beat in my heart. They will not let me rest while there is a single Negro boy or girl without a chance to prove his worth.”

“I never stop to plan. I take things step by step.”

“Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible.”

“We have a powerful potential in out youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends.”

“The true worth of a race must be measured by the character of its womanhood.”