Mary McLeod Bethune Quotes

The progress of the world will call for the best that all of us have to give.

Believe in yourself, learn, and never stop wanting to build a better world.

Studying goes deeper than mere reading. There are surface nuggets to be gathered but the best of the gold is underneath, and it takes time and labor to secure it.

A woman is free if she lives by her own standards and creates her own destiny, if she prizes her individuality and puts no boundaries on her hopes for tomorrow.

If we have the courage and tenacity of our forebears, who stood firmly like a rock against the lash of slavery, we shall find a way to do for our day what they did for theirs.

I never stop to plan. I take things step by step.

Enter to learn; depart to serve.

Knowledge is the prime need of the hour.

Education is the great American adventure, the world’s most colossal democratic experiment.

I leave you love. I leave you hope. I leave you the challenge of developing confidence in one another. I leave you respect for the use of power. I leave you faith. I leave you racial dignity.

World peace and brotherhood are based on a common understanding of the contributions and cultures of all races and creeds

We live in a world which respects power above all things. Power, intelligently directed, can lead to more freedom. Unwisely directed, it can be a dreadful, destructive force.

Forgiving is not about forgetting, it’s letting go of the hurt

To those of you with your years of service still ahead, the challenge is yours. Stop doubting yourselves. Have the courage to make up your minds and hold your decisions. Refuse to be BOUGHT for a nickel, or a million dollars, or a job!