Black History Quotes

Black history is American history. You cannot tell one story without telling the other.

‘Smart, Funny and Black’ is about celebrating, critiquing and learning about black culture, black history, and the black experience.

Black history is part of American history, and it should be treated as such.

If you only think of me during Black History Month, I must be failing as an educator and as an astrophysicist.

I don’t want a Black History Month. Black history is American history.

I performed in high school for Black History Month at a talent show, but besides that I didn’t have the resources to perform so I spent my time as a teenager writing music.

I do consider myself part of black history.

If I have a daughter and she grows up to be an astronaut, she’s gonna end up on a Black History Month stamp.

There was a manifesto in the late ’60s/early ’70s, and it basically laid out what ‘black art’ was and that it should embrace black history and black culture. There were all these rules – I was shocked, when I found it in a book, that it even existed, that it would demarcate these artists.

The James Brown story is not about James Brown. It’s about who‘s getting paid, whose interest is involved, who can squeeze the estate and black history for more.

Black history is American history.

Black culture is pop culture, Black History Month is every month, and that’s something they want us to forget. What better way to remember than to highlight all of our differences as a singular people across the globe?

Anyone can look to someone like Ruby Bridges and be inspired. We wanted to emphasize that this really is all of our history and that Black history shouldn’t just be segmented into one month and we just move on. This is a huge part of the fabric of our country.

I love Black History Month and celebrating my ancestral roots, but not just my blackness, which is so beautiful. But my Tahitian and my Italian – everything that makes me, me.

Black history is a series of missing chapters from British history. I’m trying to put those bits back in.

For children, diversity needs to be real and not merely relegated to learning the names of the usual suspects during Black History Month or enjoying south-of-the-border cuisine on Cinco de Mayo. It means talking to and spending time with kids not like them so that they may discover those kids are in fact just like them.

Steven Spielberg‘s ‘The Color Purple‘ might as well have been about a bunch of dancing eggplants for all it has to say about black history.

Black History Month could focus less on slavery and civil rights and more on the Harlem Renaissance and everything we have achieved. I want to know about the whole black experience.

‘Smart Funny and Black’ is basically a live black pop culture game show that I created. We have a live band. We have two contestants that we call ‘blacksperts.’ They come on stage and compete in games that I’ve created that test their knowledge of black culture, black history, and the black experience.

Black history won’t stop no bullets.

I did a book in 1996, an overview of black history. In that process I became more aware of a lot of the black inventors of the 19th century.

I mean it’s always good to document your history. ‘Cos for some strange reason black history has a tendency of getting lost. So I think it’s beautiful to have the ability to document it.

What’s so interesting is taking kind of all these horror tropes and really finding black history and American history to layer on top of it.

Won’t it be wonderful when black history and native American history and Jewish history and all of U.S. history is taught from one book. Just U.S. history.

People ask me why my figures have to be so black. There are a lot of reasons. First, the blackness is a rhetorical device. When we talk about ourselves as a people and as a culture, we talk about black history, black culture, black music. That’s the rhetorical position we occupy.

To be honest, I think Black History Month, it’s become much bigger than it used to be because a lot of people are doing different things, different things with it. It’s an American import, which hasn’t always fitted exactly with what I would call British and Commonwealth history.

It’s down to schools to educate children about their history, especially black history.

I went to school in the 70s and the 80s, and the last thing I expected of my schools back then was that they would be the places in which I would be taught about black history.

In terms of school, we never got taught anything about black history. Growing up, a lot of things are hidden away from you.

When I say there should not be a BET channel or a Black History Month, I’m saying we deserve more. I just hope people understand that I’m not judging; I’m coming from experience.

Black History Month must be more than just a month of remembrance; it should be a tribute to our history and reminder of the work that lies in the months and years ahead.

History is so deep, especially black history, so I have a lot to learn.

If the only time you think of me as a scientist is during Black History Month, then I must not be doing my job as a scientist.