In Honor of Black History Month, Read 25 Inspiring Quotes from Leaders Who've Helped Change the World Diane J. ChoFebruary 1, 2026 at 6:00 AM 0 Oprah Winfrey, Denzel Washington and Angela Bassett Marla Aufmuth/Getty; Kevin Winter/Getty; Bruce Glikas/WireImage For these historymakers, wisdom and success go handinhand. Black History Month, observed annually in February, spotlights influential Black individuals and their contributions to the country. From activists like Martin Luther King Jr.
- - In Honor of Black History Month, Read 25 Inspiring Quotes from Leaders Who've Helped Change the World
Diane J. ChoFebruary 1, 2026 at 6:00 AM
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Oprah Winfrey, Denzel Washington and Angela Bassett
Marla Aufmuth/Getty; Kevin Winter/Getty; Bruce Glikas/WireImage
For these history-makers, wisdom and success go hand-in-hand.
Black History Month, observed annually in February, spotlights influential Black individuals and their contributions to the country. From activists like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X to pop culture titans like Jay-Z and Oprah Winfrey, commemorate the holiday by reading some of the most inspirational quotes from important Black American figures.
01 of 25
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Marla Aufmuth/Getty
"Every time you state what you want or believe, you're the first to hear it. It's a message to both you and others about what you think is possible. Don't put a ceiling on yourself."
02 of 25
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Bettmann Archive
"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."
03 of 25
Malcolm X
Malcolm X
Robert Parent/Getty
"There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time."
04 of 25
Angela Bassett
Angela Bassett
Bruce Glikas/WireImage
"As you grow older, you'll grow wiser too, and you'll learn that being your own best advocate will also mean becoming an advocate for those who have not yet found their voices."
05 of 25
Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Monica Schipper/WireImage
"I'm hungry for knowledge. The whole thing is to learn every day, to get brighter and brighter. That's what this world is about. You look at someone like Gandhi, and he glowed. Martin Luther King glowed. Muhammad Ali glows. I think that's from being bright all the time, and trying to be brighter."
06 of 25
Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama
Julia Beverly/WireImage
"When you've worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. You reach back and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed."
07 of 25
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams
Marc Piasecki/WireImage
"We never go backward. That's the plight of the human species, but also our privilege. So as always, a new equation will emerge, and that will be led by the artists and likely powered by them as well."
08 of 25
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Neilson Barnard/Getty
"We all require and want respect, man or woman, Black or white. It's our basic human right."
09 of 25
Ava DuVernay
Ava DuVernay
Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
"When we're talking about diversity, it's not a box to check. It is a reality that should be deeply felt and held and valued by all of us."
10 of 25
Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington Christopher Polk/Getty Images
"Don't aspire to make a living, aspire to make a difference."
11 of 25
Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Stefanie Keenan/Getty
"I am lucky that whatever fear I have inside me, my desire to win is always stronger."
12 of 25
Shonda Rhimes
Shonda Rhimes
Manny Carabel/Getty
"Dreams are lovely but they are just dreams. Fleeting, ephemeral, pretty. But dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It's hard work that makes things happen. It's hard work that creates change."
13 of 25
Viola Davis
Viola Davis Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
"As Black women, we're always given these seemingly devastating experiences — experiences that could absolutely break us. But what the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls the butterfly. What we do as Black women is take the worst situations and create from that point."
14 of 25
Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty
"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. That is why I succeed."
15 of 25
Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison
Daniel Boczarski/FilmMagic
"Being a Black woman writer is not a shallow place but a rich place to write from. It doesn't limit my imagination; it expands it. It's richer than being a white male writer because I know more and I've experienced more."
16 of 25
Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
getty
"Life is not a spectator sport. If you're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you're wasting your life."
17 of 25
Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Chisholm
OHalloran/Library of Congress/Interim Archives/Getty
"If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair."
18 of 25
Kerry Washington
Kerry Washington
David Fisher/Shutterstock
"I don't decide to play the characters I play as a political choice. Yet the characters I play often do become political statements. Because having your story told as a woman, as a person of color, as a lesbian, or as a trans person or as any member of any disenfranchised community is sadly often still a radical idea. There is so much power in storytelling and there is enormous power in inclusive storytelling and inclusive representations."
19 of 25
James Baldwin
James Baldwin
Anthony Barboza/Getty
"Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within."
20 of 25
Taraji P. Henson
Taraji P. Henson
Momodu Mansaray/WireImage
"Humans have a light side and a dark side, and it's up to us to choose which way we're going to live our lives. Even if you start out on the dark side, it doesn't mean you have to continue your journey that way. You always have time to turn it around."
21 of 25
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing."
22 of 25
Maya Angelou
Jemal Countess/Getty
"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."
23 of 25
Colin Kaepernick
Colin Kaepernick
Noam Galai/Getty
"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."
24 of 25
Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Brad Barket/Getty
"Imagine what a harmonious world it could be if every single person, both young and old shared a little of what he is good at doing."
25 of 25
Richard Pryor
Richard Pryor.
Bob Riha Jr/WireImage
"Two things people throughout history have had in common are hatred and humour. I am proud that I have been able to use humour to lessen people's hatred."
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: February 01, 2026 at 04:45PM on Source: MARIO MAG
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