Five Quotes from W.E.B. Du Boise
To read more about W.E.B. Du Boise, click here; to read more about the Niagara Movement, click here.
To read more in the Five Quotes series, click here.
"One is astonished in the study of history at the recurrence of the idea
that evil must be forgotten, distorted, skimmed over. We must not
remember that Daniel Webster got drunk but only that he was a splendid
constitutional lawyer. We must forget that George Washington was a slave
owner . . . and simply remember the things we regard as creditable and
inspiring. The difficulty, of course, with this philosophy is that
history loses its value as an incentive and example; it paints perfect
man and noble nations, but it does not tell the truth."
"One thing alone I charge you. As you live, believe in life! Always human
beings will live and progress to greater, broader and fuller life. The
only possible death is to lose belief in this truth simply because the
great end comes slowly, because time is long."
"There is in this world no such force as the force of a person determined to rise. The human soul cannot be permanently chained."
"A little less complaint and whining, and a little more dogged work and
manly striving, would do us more credit than a thousand civil rights
bills."
"The worker must work for the glory of his handiwork, not simply for pay; the thinker must think for truth, not for fame."
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