Black tells you how you look without telling you who you are. A more proper word for our people, African, relates us to land, history and culture. John Henrik Clarke, Dr
All people of African descent, whether they live in North or South America, the Caribbean, or in any part of the world are Africans and belong to the African nation. Kwame Nkrumah, Dr
Africa for the Africans at home and abroad. Marcus Garvey
Wake up Africa! Let us work towards the one glorious end of a free, redeemed and mighty nation. Let Africa be a bright star among the constellation of nations. Marcus Garvey
Just because a cat has kittens in the oven, that doesn't make them biscuits. Malcolm X
We are African and we happen to be in America. We are not American. We are people who formerly were Africans who were kidnapped and brought to America. Malcolm X
The shape of the African continent is like a question mark, imploring us to go on a journey of enquiry and discovery. Kwaku
Some of my students sometimes don’t seem very proud to be called African, they associate the place with poverty, starvation. Barry Chevannes
It is sad to think that there are some Africans, especially among those who have enjoyed the advantages of foreign training, who are blind enough to the radical facts of humanity as to say, ‘Let us do away with our African personality and be lost, if possible, in another race’. Preach this doctrine as much as you like, no one will do it, for no one can do it, for when you have done away with your personality, you have done away with yourselves. Your place has been assigned you in the universe as Africans, and there is no room for you as anything else. Edward Blyden
My people of Africa, we were created in the image of God, but men have made us think we are chickens, and we still think we are, but we are eagles. Stretch forth your wings and fly! Don’t be content with food of chickens. Kwegyir Aggrey, Dr
Africa is a rich continent. It is a travesty that the majority of Africans are not benefiting from the continent’s resources. Ms Serwah
Extras:
I dislike this idea nowadays that if you're a black person in America, then you must be called African-American. Listen, I've visited Africa, and I've got news for everyone: I'm not an African. The Africans know I'm not an African. I'm an American. This is my country. My people helped to build it and we've been here for centuries. Just call me black, if you want to call me anything. Whoopi Goldberg, The Daily Telegraph interview, 20 April 1998
My real name – Keith Graham – is Scottish, but when I looked in the mirror as a kid I didn't see anyone Scottish; I didn't know who I was. There was no thought at school about black history, any of that, not like now. But then I started listening to Bob Marley, especially Natty Dread, the songs of empowerment more than the love songs, and through him I found out I was African, via Jamaica, which led directly to my metamorphosis from Keith Graham to Levi Roots when I was 17. Levi Roots, New Scotsman interview, 17 March 2010
We tell poor people who are vulnerable, "You need to pull yourself by your bootstraps," and yet multi-billion dollar corporations who are making more than trillion dollar mistakes are receiving the public largesse. We have socialism for the gifted, and we have self-help and capitalism for the poor.
Prof Michael Eric Dyson
A civilisation flourishes when people plant trees under which they will never sit. Although this is said to be a Greek proverb, it sounds very much like an African saying. In any case, it ought to be a saying popularised across African communities.
