What I wanted was for them to have a grand, sweeping narrative that they deserved, the kind of American history that belongs to the Wright Brothers and the astronauts, to Alexander Hamilton and Martin Luther King Jr. Not told as a separate history, but as part of the story we all know. Not at the margins, but at the very center, the protagonists of the drama. And not just because they are black, or because they are women, but because they are part of the American epic. -- Margot Lee Shetterly

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Negro life in America was a never-ending series of negotiations: when to fight and when to concede. -- Margot Lee Shetterly

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Do not let the memories of your past limit the potential of your future. There are no limits to what you can achieve on your journey through life, except in your mind. ― Roy T. Bennett,

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Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential. - Barack Obama

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People of accomplishments rarely sit back and let things happen to them. They go out and happen to things. ― Leonardo da Vinci

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Then they yelled at the ones that had stars at the start. We’re exactly like you! You can’t tell us apart. We’re all just the same, now, you snooty old smarties! And now we can go to your frankfurter parties. -- Dr. Seuss

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Each of us should be allowed to rise as far as our talent and hard work can take us. -- Margot Lee Shetterly

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Your past mistakes don't define your future accomplishments.

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I will not let anyone scare me out of my full potential. — Nicki Minaj

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Sometimes you need a little crisis to get your adrenaline flowing and help you realize your potential. ― Jeannette Walls

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