“It is well known that the Black race is the most oppressed and most exploited of the human family.”

HO CHI MINH, “Lynching”, 1924

“‘Jim Crow’ follows Blacks from the cradle to the grave… The only crime committed was they had been born Black.”

HO CHI MINH, “Jim Crow” in The Black Race, 1925

“Vietnam has the right to be a free and independent country—and in fact it is so already. The entire Vietnamese people are determined to mobilize all their physical and mental strength, to sacrifice their lives and property in order to safeguard their independence and liberty.“

HO CHI MINH, Declaration of Independence of Vietnam, September 2, 1945

“For every French person who dies, there are at least 10 Vietnamese people who lost their lives, for a simple reason that the French have airplanes, navy ships and modern weapons, while the Vietnamese don’t have those!
We need to stop this brother-killing-brother! The Vietnamese and the French peoples pursue the same ideals: liberty, equality and fraternity. We have the same objective of a democratic system. We need to support each other.”

HO CHI MINH, Letter Replying to Ms. Chossi, French Women’s Association, September 22, 1955

“Friendship and peace among the peoples around the world.”

HO CHI MINH, January 1954

“Our Hùng Kings had done their part in building the country,
You and I have to do our part and defend it.”

HO CHI MINH, Speech at the Hùng King Temple in Phú Thọ province, September 19, 1954

“The country of Vietnam is one. The people of Vietnam are one. Rivers can dry up and mountains can be worn down, but this truth will never change.”

HO CHI MINH, Letter to Compatriots in the South, 1948

“I simply have a wish, a burning wish, to achieve complete independence for our homeland and freedom for our people so that our compatriots can all be properly fed, clothed and educated.”

HO CHI MINH, Interview with foreign journalists, January 1946

“Whether the country of Vietnam can be developed, whether the Vietnamese people can step to the glory comparable to powerful nations in the five continents, depend a large part on your studying efforts.”

HO CHI MINH, “Letter to Students” on the first day of school of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, September 1945

“It was only three to four years from 40 to 44, but the Trưng Sisters made the foreign invaders frightened. That was in a feudal period, and women already knew how to have a revolution. Now that the word “feminism” has already been thunderous everywhere in the world, our sisters once again see our nation declining, you would not have the heart to sit still!
Dear sisters! Hurry up and unite!”

HO CHI MINH, “Queen Trưng Trắc”, 1926

“Defeating imperialism and feudalism is relatively easy.
Overcoming poverty and underdevelopment is much more difficult.”

HO CHI MINH, 1960

“Plant trees for the benefit of a decade,
Invest in human capital for the benefit of a century.”

HO CHI MINH, 1958

“Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom!”

HO CHI MINH, 1966

“Material possession will end when a person’s life ends. Good or bad reputation, however, will be told for thousands of generations.”

HO CHI MINH, 1946

5 things Uncle Ho taught the children:
“Love our Fatherland, love our compatriots
Study well, work hard
Be united, be disciplined
Keep good hygiene
Be modest, honest and brave.”

HO CHI MINH, 1961

“Study in order to work,
to be a moral human being,
to become a cadre.
Study in order to serve the collective,
the working class and the people,
our Fatherland and all humankind.
To achieve our goals, we must be
hard working, frugal, honest, righteous, public-spirited and selfless.”

HO CHI MINH, 1949

“The stream sounds like a singing voice far away
The moon covers the old tree, the shadow covers the flower.
The night scenery is like a painting, and one is still awake,
Still awake and thinking about the country.”

HO CHI MINH, Poem “The Night Scenery”, 1947

“In the mid-autumn season,
the moon is as bright as a mirror.
Uncle Ho looks at the beautiful scenery
Writing the following lines
for you with love and missing you.”

HO CHI MINH, Poem “Mid-Autumn”, 1951

“Our people have to know our history
To know thoroughly the origin of the country Vietnam.
To recount four thousand years
Our ancestors were glorious, our people are harmonious.”

HO CHI MINH, Poem “Our History”, 1941

“If there were no gloomy winter,
there would be no blossom spring.
Reflecting on current difficult circumstances:
The present challenges can only train oneself to be stronger.”

HO CHI MINH, “Self-training”, The Prison Diary, 1943

“The mountains and rivers far in the horizon
They don’t need to be so vast.
Here is Lenin stream, there is Marx mountain
Two bare hands can build a national cause.”

HO CHI MINH, Poem “Impressive Pac Bo”, 1941

“Last year we had glorious victory,
This year we’ll have even bigger victory.
For independence and freedom
We fight to force the Americans out.
Forward! Soldiers and compatriots!
North-South reunified, the most joyous Spring.”

HO CHI MINH, Poem “Happy New Year”, 1969