This February, in honor of Black History Month, we are sharing with you 28 quotes. Quotes meant to inspire. Quotes meant to motivate. And quotes meant to remind us how Black women have done so much for our community. Our country. Our world.
"Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach his goals." - Dorothy Height, Civil Rights and Woman's Rights activist
"Don't settle for average. Bring your best to the moment. Then, whether it fails or succeeds, at least you know you gave all you had. We need to live the best that's in us." - Angela Bassett, actress
"Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew." - Cicely Tyson, actress
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou, author and poet
"You're not obligated to win. You're obligated to keep trying to do the best you can every day." - Marian Wright Edelman, Founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund
"It was when I realized I needed to stop trying to be somebody else and be myself, I actually started to own, accept and love what I had." - Tracee Ellis Ross, actress
"It isn’t where you come from; it’s where you’re going that counts." - Ella Fitzgerald, jazz singer
"Failure is a great teacher and, if you are open to it, every mistake has a lesson to offer." - Oprah Winfrey, talk show host and broadcasting mogul
"I think a lot of people dream. And while they are busy dreaming, the really happy people, the really successful people, the really interesting, engaged, powerful people, are busy doing." - Shonda Rhimes, writer and producer
"You don't make progress b by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas." - Shirley Chisholm, politician and first African-American woman nominated for President
"The only limit to the height of your achievement is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them." - Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States
"Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations." - Mae Jemison, astronaut
"Don't wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you've got to make yourself." - Alice Walker, author
"If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy." - Amanda Gorman, American poet
"When the heart is right, the mind and the body will follow." - Coretta Scott King, Civil Rights activist
"I really don't think life is about the I-could-have-beens. Life is only about the I-tried-to-do. I don't mind the failure but I can't imagine that I'd forgive myself if I didn't try." - Nikki Giovanni, American poet and writer
"I'm always interested in learning something new." - Katherine Johnson, mathematician
"To bring about change, you must not be afraid to take the first step. We will fail when we fail to try." - Rosa Parks, Civil Rights activist
"Don't sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them." - Madame C.J. Walker, entrepreneur
"Sometimes, what you're looking for is already there." - Aretha Franklin, singer
"There’s always something to suggest that you’ll never be who you wanted to be. Your choice is to take it or keep on moving." - Phylicia Rashad, American actress and singer
"Just remember the world is not a playground but a schoolroom. Life is not a holiday but an education. One eternal lesson for us all: to teach us how better we should love." - Barbara Jordan, politician and attorney
"It is the mind that makes the body." - Sojourner Truth, abolitionist and Women’s Rights activist
"Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us." - Wilma Rudolph, Olympic runner
"Instead of looking at the past, I put myself ahead twenty years and try to look at what I need to do now in order to get there then." - Diana Ross, singer
"I may not be there yet, but I am closer than I was yesterday." - Misty Copeland, ballerina
"You are your best thing." - Toni Morrison, author
"Design the life you want to live." - Rachel Roy, fashion designer
Join thousands of women who are using the 99 Walks walking app to track their goals and find the mental and physical health and wellness they’ve desired. 99 Walks will keep you motivated with a tracking app, an extensive library of walking classes, daily inspiration and a supportive community—plus, you’ll earn an inspirational bracelet when you accomplish your goal! Click here to learn more!