I shall never permit myself to stoop so low as to hate any man.

I would permit no man, no matter what his colour might be, to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.

An inch of progress is worth more than a yard of complaint.

Think about it: we went into slavery pagans; we came out Christians. We went into slavery pieces of property; we came out American citizens. We went into slavery with chains clanking about our wrists; we came out with the American ballot in our hands.

There is no defense or security for any of us except in the highest intelligence and development of all.

Character, not circumstances, makes the man.

A race, like an individual, lifts itself up by lifting others up.