All I demand for the black man is, that the white people shall take their heels off his neck, and let him have a chance to rise by his own efforts.
William Wells BrownThe last great struggle for our rights; the battle for our own civilization, is entirely with ourselves, and the problem is to be solved by us.
William Wells BrownSomeone must show that the Afro-American race is more sinned against than sinning, and it seems to have fallen to me to do so. The awful death roll called every week is appalling, not only because of the lives taken, the cruelty and outrage to the victims, but because of the prejudice it fosters.
William Wells Brown