w.e.b. dubois: birthday

Men must not only know, they must act.
Education must not simply teach work-it must teach life.
The chief problem in any community cursed with crime is not the punishment of the criminals, but the preventing of the young from being trained to crime.
It is the wind and the rain, O God, the cold and the storm that make this earth of yours to blossom and bear its fruit. So in our lives it is storm and stress and hurt and suffering that make real men and women bring the world’s work to its highest perfection.
There can be no perfect democracy curtailed by color, race, or poverty. But with all we accomplish all, even peace.
The power of the ballot we need in sheer defense, else what shall save us from a second slavery?
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.
We shall never secure emancipation from the tyranny of the white oppressor until we have achieved it in our own souls.
The chief problem in any community cursed with crime is not the punishment of the criminals, but the preventing of the young from being trained to crime.
There is in this world no such force as the force of a person determined to rise. The human soul cannot be permanently chained.