16 Lesser-Known Quotes From Influential Civil Rights Leaders

At a time when school boards are voting to remove Black history from curriculums and the state of Florida approved harmful academic standards stating that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit,” it’s crucial to recognize the Black trailblazers who pushed forward voting rights, put an end to discriminatory Jim Crow laws and refused to allow future generations of Black people to suffer the same discrimination and abuse that they did.

While well-known figureheads, such as Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis and Ruby Bridges, have received lots of recognition (but still not enough), lesser-known civil rights leaders — Bayard Rustin, Diane Nash and many more — deserve to be known, too.

Without the work of Black leaders on the front lines and behind the scenes, the progress seen today would likely not exist. Though Black people still face racism, unfair challenges and discrimination within many systems in this world, it’s easy to forget that major progress has been made in recent years. It’s been just 60 years since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed, which ended Jim Crow laws that protected segregation.

It remains true that we can’t move forward if we don’t know our history, and, beyond that, we can’t move forward without commitment to change and hard work.

So as the fight continues, take time to be inspired by the Black leaders who led the charge for freedom and equality. Read on for their powerful quotes:

1. “The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.”

— Ida B. Wells, an investigative journalist and one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, in “The Light of Truth: Writings of an Anti-Lynching