Essential Black Wisdom: Quotes of Inspiration and Strength

by Carol Kelly-Gangi

Part of the Essential Wisdom Series, this collection of more than 350 quotations from Black individuals is arranged by theme. Themes include: Knowledge, Education, and Innovation; Slavery and Its Legacy; Freedom, Rights, Equality, and Justice; Race and Racism; The Civil Rights Movement; Government, Democracy, and Activism; America; Love and Kindness; Family and Friendship; Work, Artistry, and Success; Hardship, Adversity, and Hope; Women and Men; Spirituality, Morality, and Values; Poverty and Riches, Wisdom and Inspiration.

Genres: Self Help

144 pages, Hardcover

Published December 18, 2018

Reviews

[Natasha Nurse, Esq.]

A book filled with wisdom and inspiration that will leave a mark on you 🥹

[SaDarius]

Wisdom, knowledge, insight, ect. So many names for receiving education from our ancestors and forebears. This was captivating, angering, lovely and true.

[Amanda Papenfus]

This book is almost entirely quotes except a couple-page intro by the editor in the front and 10 pages of contributors in the back. Although I didn’t count either since there are at least 5 quotes per page and at least 25 contributors per page, there are probably over 500 quotes and over 200 contributors. The quotes are organized into 15 categories with historical topics such as Slavery and It’s Legacy and The Civil Rights Movement and daily life topics like Work, Artistry, and Success and Family and Friendship. I can tell the editor put a lot of effort into the organization of these quotes as they often flow well one to the next.

I found so many quotes in this book to ⭐️ that I’m sure I’ll return to it again. I enjoyed reading new-to-me words from familiar people, finding out about people I didn’t know about, and learning the source to quotes or paraphrases I’d heard but never seen attribution for. I also discovered people whose work I’d read but not looked into author history of were Black, such as Alexander Dumas.

The only thing I might add to this book would be an index by keywords and page numbers to the contributor list as to where each person’s quotes can be found. This would make the book more accessible for returning to it and/or those wishing to use it for research purposes.

[Stan]

I enjoyed reading "Essential Black Wisdom" by Carol Kelly-Gangi. The quotes are divided by subject matter and come from a broad span of time. Most importantly, there are some real gems among these quotes. Several sections were difficult to read, given the historical travesties that so many African Americans faced in the United States (and around the world). However, those sections are the ones that we cannot ignore. I am grateful for having read them in this volume. Of course, such a collection would not serve me well unless I gleaned a "further reading" list from the quoted leaders. I'm looking forward to reading more deeply from several of these great men and women.

[Gregory Stanton]

A simple collection of quotes from historical Black people.

"Unless we learn from history, we are destined to repeat it. This is no longer merely an academic exercise, but may contain our worlds fate and our destiny."
Alex Haley

[Tammie Fowlkes]

This book had some wonderful quotes of inspiration and strength. I really enjoyed reading so many beautiful quotes.

[Angelita]

Great quote book about my ancestors.

[Nelly Martínez]

Some good quotes.

[Raena]

Very inspiring