Black Boys Quotes

“Inspire, celebrate, and empower our Black males. Support them in becoming confident, intelligent, strong, capable, and powerful Black men, teens, and boys. There’s GREAT power in Black male positivity!”
― Stephanie Lahart

“Because the white world demonstrated in every possible way that he, a black boy, had to live within the murdering boundaries of racial restrictions, I had raised him to believe that he had a say in the living of his life, and that barring accidents, he should have a say in the dying of his death.”
― Maya Angelou, The Heart of a Woman

“Dear Young Black Males… Our Future Black Kings: I’m 100% rooting for you, I wholeheartedly believe in you, I deeply care about you, I genuinely love you, and I honestly want to see you succeed in EVERY area of your life.”
― Stephanie Lahart

“have you ever
heard
a black woman weep over her skinmurdered child.
it is the splitting of atoms.
it is billions
of
voices screaming their children’s names
through
her death wail.

–– trayvon martin ii”
― Nayyirah Waheed, Salt

“Young black boys, Charlie thought, the most marvelous beings in the universe. As nonchalantly as Herald bit into that fruit did black boys ever ponder their influence on the whole world. How effortlessly they rounded the shape of the earth with their swagger and illuminated its days with their creativity. Their hope, Charlie mused, offered even the bleakest parts of our planet a second sun.”
― Cebo Campbell, Sky Full of Elephants

“To be a black male is to be always at war, and no flight to the county can save us, because even there we are met by the assumption of violence, by the specter of who we might turn on next.”
― Ta-nehisi Coates, The Beautiful Struggle

“As I learned more about the juvenile and criminal justice systems, I was reminded of all those jail and prison visits I'd made in my life. What struck me was just how regular it was. We have to take a second to process how messed up that is. We have normalized the abnormal so completely we don't even realize it. Why was this part of Black boys' coming-of-age? Why are some things praised and aspired to? Why are certain things like serving time held up as a badge of honor when they only lead to ruin?”
― Michael K. Williams, Scenes from My Life: A Memoir

“Son, you’re growing into a big man. You’re going to have to be more conscious of yourself. You are not a mean kid, but because of your size you will do things that will be seen as a threat. You need to be conscious especially around white people. You are big, and you are a young black man. You need to be careful about what you do and what you say.”
― Ta-nehisi Coates, The Beautiful Struggle

“No matter what the professional talkers tell you, I never met a black boy who wanted to fail.”
― Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Beautiful Struggle

“Who teaches Black boys how to love anyway? Especially the ones who love other boys?”
― Ebony LaDelle, You've Got a Place Here, Too: An Anthology of Black Love Stories Set at HBCUs