These are quotes from the Harlem Renaissance, the cultural and intellectual revolution that emerged like wildfire and spread, igniting the minds of the Afro-American population of America.
A subdued people, found their own voice and their identity in an outpour of hope, courage and newfound confidence. Many great poets, writers, musicians and artists emerged, to redefine the African-American way of thought. Some beautiful quotes from this fiery period of renaissance and the men and women who drove it, are presented in this Buzzle article. Take a look…
Zora Neale Hurston Quotes
“Once you wake up thought in a man, you can never put it to sleep again.”
“Those that don’t got it, can’t show it. Those that got it, can’t hide it.”
“Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing, until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men. Now, women forget all those things they don’t want to remember, and remember everything they don’t want to forget. The dream is the truth. They then act and do things according”
“Grab the broom of anger and drive off the beast of fear.”
“No matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you.”
“Sometimes I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can anyone deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me.”
“There is nothing to make you like other human beings so much as doing things for them.”
“It seems to me that trying to live without friends is like milking a bear to get cream for your morning coffee. It is a whole lot of trouble, and then not worth much after you get it.”
“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.”
Asa Philip Randolph Quotes
“Freedom is never given; it is won.”
“In every truth, the beneficiaries of a system cannot be expected to destroy it.”
Marcus Mosiah Garvey Quotes
“The Negro must build on his own basis apart from the white mans foundation if he ever hopes to be a master builder.”
“There has never been a movement where the leader has not suffered for the cause and not received the ingratitude of the People I like the rest am prepared for the consequences.”
Langston Hughes Quotes
“An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose.”
“Hold fast to your dreams, for without them life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.”
“I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.”
“When people care for you and cry for you, they can straighten out your soul.”
“Negroes – Sweet and docile, Meek, humble, and kind: Beware the day – They change their mind.”
“I swear to the Lord, I still can’t see, why Democracy means, everybody but me.”
“Humor is laughing at what you haven’t got when you ought to have it.”
