--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you can't read, it's going to be hard…" description: "\"If you can't read, it's going to be hard to realize dreams.\" — Booker T. Washington" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/booker-t-washington-2277_dream_if-you-can-t-read-it-s-going-to-be-hard_2695805.png" --- # If you can't read, it's going to be hard to realize dreams. ![“If you can't read, it's going to be hard to realize dreams.” quote by Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/booker-t-washington-2277_dream_if-you-can-t-read-it-s-going-to-be-hard_2695805.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/booker-t-washington-2277_dream_if-you-can-t-read-it-s-going-to-be-hard_2695805.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/booker-t-washington-2277_dream_if-you-can-t-read-it-s-going-to-be-hard_2695805.png) > “If you can't read, it's going to be hard to realize dreams.” [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literacy is essential; without it, dreams remain unattainable. **In simple terms:** Reading is needed to achieve dreams. Key Takeaway Learn to read to pursue goals. Themes education empowerment dreams inequality Mood hopeful determined Type educational motivational When to use this quote - schools - adult education - community programs Key Concepts literacy social mobility self‑improvement Questions to Reflect On - What barriers block your reading? - How can you foster literacy around you? A Different Perspective Access to books may be limited. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ## Related quotes > [“Lucky Luke: I wonder how you manage to read with everything that's going on. Jolly Jumper: By turning the pages just like everyone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris/lucky-luke-i-wonder-how-you-manage-to-read-with-everything-that-s/) Morris > [The literacy level at Mississippi prisons? Fifth grade. Can't read, what are you going to do? If you've got a conviction rap, what are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/the-literacy-level-at-mississippi-prisons-fifth-grade-can-t-read-what/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [I write for the same reason I read: to find out what's going to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/i-write-for-the-same-reason-i-read-to-find-out-what-s-going-to-happen/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“I read somewhere that if you’re going through Hell, keep going. It’s the only way past it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belle-aurora/i-read-somewhere-that-if-you-re-going-through-hell-keep-going-it-s/) [Belle Aurora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belle-aurora/) > [I advise writing to oneself. If you don't want to read it, nobody else is going to read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-hinton/i-advise-writing-to-oneself-if-you-don-t-want-to-read-it-nobody-else/) [S. E. Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-e-hinton/) > [My wife and I love to read. We're going to have to move out to make room for the books! And we have our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gale-gordon/my-wife-and-i-love-to-read-we-re-going-to-have-to-move-out-to-make/) [Gale Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gale-gordon/) > [The technology's going to change, but what people want to read is going to be basically the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/the-technology-s-going-to-change-but-what-people-want-to-read-is/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Books that kids read should be about what is going on in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-morpurgo/books-that-kids-read-should-be-about-what-is-going-on-in-the-world/) [Michael Morpurgo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-morpurgo/) > [Once you get attached to someone it's hard to realize that they're no good for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-you-get-attached-to-someone-it-s-hard-to-realize-that-they-re-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes its hard to move on, but once you do you realize its the best decision you could've made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-its-hard-to-move-on-but-once-you-do-you-realize-its-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think when you're writing from your own life, it's hard because you realize that people have their own assessment of how they look,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-think-when-you-re-writing-from-your-own-life-it-s-hard-because-you/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [Is it that hard to realize that love isn't there for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob/is-it-that-hard-to-realize-that-love-isn-t-there-for-you/) [Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob/) > [Giving up a lot of yourself isn't really that hard when you realize that you get more than you give up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-goodman/giving-up-a-lot-of-yourself-isn-t-really-that-hard-when-you-realize/) [John Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-goodman/) > [“So hard for me to realize," Bernard was saying, "to reconstruct. As though we were living on different planets, in different centuries. A mother,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/so-hard-for-me-to-realize-bernard-was-saying-to-reconstruct-as-though/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Sometimes you’ll hold on really hard and realize there is no choice but to let go. Acceptance is a small, quiet room.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/sometimes-you-ll-hold-on-really-hard-and-realize-there-is-no-choice/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) ## More by Booker T. Washington > [“There are some things that one individual can do for another, and there are some things that one race can do for another. But,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/there-are-some-things-that-one-individual-can-do-for-another-and/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [Think about it: we went into slavery pagans; we came out Christians. We went into slavery pieces of property; we came out American citizens.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/think-about-it-we-went-into-slavery-pagans-we-came-out-christians-we/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [I let no man drag me down so low as to make me hate him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/i-let-no-man-drag-me-down-so-low-as-to-make-me-hate-him/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [The wisest among my race understand that agitations of social equality is the extremist folly, and that progress in the enjoyment of all privileges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/the-wisest-among-my-race-understand-that-agitations-of-social/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [“I began learning long ago that those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/i-began-learning-long-ago-that-those-who-are-happiest-are-those-who/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [If you truly want to measure the success of a man, you do not measure it by a position he has achieved, but by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/if-you-truly-want-to-measure-the-success-of-a-man-you-do-not-measure/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [The time will come when the Negro in the South will be accorded all the political rights which his ability, character, and material possessions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/the-time-will-come-when-the-negro-in-the-south-will-be-accorded-all/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [“Kada smo u kontaktu sa drugim čovekom, mi mu ili pomažemo ili smetamo. Nema trećeg: ili ga vučemo na dole, ili ga izvlačimo na…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/kada-smo-u-kontaktu-sa-drugim-ovekom-mi-mu-ili-poma-emo-ili-smetamo/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/excellence-is-to-do-a-common-thing-in-an-uncommon-way/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [We must reinforce argument with results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/we-must-reinforce-argument-with-results/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [Mere connection with what is known as a superior race will not permanently carry an individual forward unless the individual has worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/mere-connection-with-what-is-known-as-a-superior-race-will-not/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [No race that has anything to contribute to the markets of the world is long in any degree ostracized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/no-race-that-has-anything-to-contribute-to-the-markets-of-the-world/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [The highest test of the civilization of any race is in its willingness to extend a helping hand to the less fortunate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/the-highest-test-of-the-civilization-of-any-race-is-in-its/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [The Negro is not the man farthest down. The condition of the coloured farmer in the most backward parts of the Southern States of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/the-negro-is-not-the-man-farthest-down-the-condition-of-the-coloured/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [“it takes no more time to be polite to every one than it does to be rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/it-takes-no-more-time-to-be-polite-to-every-one-than-it-does-to-be/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) [Explore all 174 Booker T. Washington quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) ## More Dream quotes > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. My biggest dream was to have a coffee shop, but I had no idea how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-espinosa/academically-i-was-never-that-interested-i-skipped-classes-my-biggest/) [Daniel Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-espinosa/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Browse all 26,527 Dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you can't read, it's going to be hard to realize dreams.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Booker T. 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