The marriage institution cannot exist among slaves, and one sixth of the population of democratic America is denied it's privileges by the law of the land. What is to be thought of a nation boasting of its liberty, boasting of it's humanity, boasting of its Christianity, boasting of its love of justice and purity, and yet having within its own borders three millions of persons denied by law the right of marriage?

A slave is someone who sits down, and waits for someone to free them.

You are not judged by the height you have risen, but from the depth you have climbed.

Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.

This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.

Yet people in general will say they like colored men as well as any other, but in their proper place.

I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into a brute!