A wise man never knows all, only fools know everything
|
Black girl black girl lips as curved as cherries full as grape bunches sweet as blackberries
|
A poet can read. A poet can write. A poet is African in Africa, or Irish in Ireland, or French on the left bank of Paris, or white in Wisconsi...
|
Let all Black Poets die as trumpets, And be buried in the dust of marching feet.
|
In an earlier stage of our development most human groups held to a tribal ethic. Members of the tribe were protected, but people of other tribes could be robbed or killed as one pleased. Gradually the circle of protection expanded, but as recently as 150 years ago we did not include blacks. So African human beings could be captured, shipped to America and sold. In Australia white settlers regarded Aborigines as a pest and hunted them down, much as kangaroos are hunted down today. Just as we have progressed beyond the blatantly racist ethic of the era of slavery and colonialism, so we must now progress beyond the speciesist ethic of the era of factory farming, of the use of animals as mere research tools, of whaling, seal hunting, kangaroo slaughter and the destruction of wilderness. We must take the final step in expanding the circle of ethics.
|
The treatment of African and African American culture in our education was no different from their treatment in Tarzan movies.
|
I always return from Africa energized and rejuvenated. Largely because of the African voices -- the wisdom in those voices -- [I'm] energized and invigorated!
|
We need somebody who's got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom, the empathy to understand what it's like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old - and that's the criterion by which I'll be selecting my judges.
|
My parents shared not only an improbable love, they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an African name, Barack, or blessed, believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success.
|
For us Africans, literature must serve a purpose: to expose, embarrass, and fight corruption and authoritarianism. It is understandable why the African artist is utilitarian.
|
'I'm 23 now, and I've grown into this woman. I feel sexy and more mature. I wanted these inside changes to be reflected in both my look and music. I am a vegan now, and it was a conscious decision. I studied a lot about African culture and health and the best way to take care of the body. I really wanted to be healthy. At first I was just trying to challenge myself; I thought it was a phase and that I would grow out of it, but it wasn't. I found out a lot about the body and what [hormones] they put in meat. My taste buds started changing, and I didn't crave [meat and dairy products] anymore.'
|
The fact that the lower animals are excited by the same emotions as ourselves is so well established, that it will not be necessary to weary the reader by many details. Terror acts in the same manner on them as on us, causing the muscles to tremble, the heart to palpitate, the sphincters to be relaxed, and the hair to stand on end. Suspicion, the offspring of fear, is eminently characteristic of most wild animals. It is, I think, impossible to read the account given by Sir E. Tennent, of the behaviour of the female elephants, used as decoys, without admitting that they intentionally practise deceit, and well know what they are about. Courage and timidity are extremely variable qualities in the individuals of the same species, as is plainly seen in our dogs. Some dogs and horses are ill-tempered, and easily turn sulky; others are good-tempered; and these qualities are certainly inherited. Every one knows how liable animals are to furious rage, and how plainly they shew it. Many, and probably true, anecdotes have been published on the long-delayed and artful revenge of various animals. The accurate Rengger, and Brehm state that the American and African monkeys which they kept tame, certainly revenged themselves. Sir Andrew Smith, a zoologist whose scrupulous accuracy was known to many persons, told me the following story of which he was himself an eye-witness; at the Cape of Good Hope an officer had often plagued a certain baboon, and the animal, seeing him approaching one Sunday for parade, poured water into a hole and hastily made some thick mud, which he skilfully dashed over the officer as he passed by, to the amusement of many bystanders. For long afterwards the baboon rejoiced and triumphed whenever he saw his victim.
|
We have not been fair with the Negro and his education. He has not had adequate or ample education to permit him to qualify for many jobs that...
|
When spider webs unite they can tie up a lion.
|
African American children can't be educationally disadvantaged for 12 years and then experience a miracle cure when it comes time for admission into college.
|
First of all, the music that people call Latin or Spanish is really African. So Black people need to get the credit for that.
|
A new swimming pool is rapidly taking shape since the contractors have thrown in the bulk of their workers.
|
The hand that rocks the cradle rules the nation and its destiny.
|
When an old man dies, a library burns down.
|
Wherever man goes to dwell his character goes with him.
|
It's a pity one can't imagine what one can't compare to anything. Genius is an African who dreams up snow.
|
Whatever accomplishment you boast of in the world, there is someone better than you.
|
If your buttocks burn, you know you have done wrong.
|
Do not try to fight a lion if you are not one yourself.
|
A fool and water will go the way they are diverted.
|
Until lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter.
|
When the mouth stumbles, it is worse than the foot.
|
A small child from a developing country has the advantage, from a very early age, of having access to toys which structure his mind, which constitute a sure advantage over the little African child who has never even held a modern toy.
|
A camel never sees its own hump.
|
Only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet.
|