More Quotes by W. E. B. Du Bois
The worker must work for the glory of his handiwork, not simply for pay; the thinker must think for truth, not for fame.
Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient season. It is today that our best work can be done.
The favorite device of the devil, ancient and modern, is to force a human being into a more or less artificial class, accuse the class of unnamed and unnameable sin, and then damn any individual in the alleged class, however innocent he may be.
The main thing is the YOU beneath the clothes and skin--the ability to do, the will to conquer, the determination to understand and know this great, wonderful, curious world.
In 1956, I shall not go to the polls. I have not registered. I believe that democracy has so far disappeared in the United States that no 'two evils' exist. There is but one evil party with two names, and it will be elected despite all I can do or say.
The theory of democratic government is not that the will of the people is always right, but rather that normal human beings of average intelligence will, if given a chance, learn the right and best course by bitter experience.
There may often be excuse for doing things poorly in this world, but there is never any excuse for calling a poorly done thing, well done.
Would America have been America without her Negro people?
Education must not simply teach work-it must teach life.
Oppression costs the oppressor too much if the oppressed stands up and protests. The protest need not be merely physical-the throwing of stones and bullets-if it is mental, spiritual; if it expresses itself in silent, persistent dissatisfaction, the cost to the oppressor is terrific.
