“Our destiny is largely in our hands.”

You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.

A man is worked on by what he works on.

There is no negro problem. The problem is whether the American people have loyalty enough, honor enough, patriotism enough, to live up to their own constitution.

If I have advocated the cause of the Negro, it is not because I am a Negro, but because I am a man.

Freedom is a road seldom traveled by the multitude.

The man who will get up will be helped up; and the man who will not get up will be allowed to stay down.

The destiny of the colored American is the destiny of America.

What I ask for the Negro is not benevolence, not pity, not sympathy, but simply justice.

I am a Republican, a black, dyed in the wool Republican, and I never intend to belong to any other party than the party of freedom and progress.

I prayed for freedom for twenty years, but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.

The silver trump of freedom roused in my soul eternal wakefulness.

To make a contented slave it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken the moral and mental vision and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason.

Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.

Slaves are generally expected to sing as well as to work.

The mind does not take its complexion from the skin.

It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.

Out of chaos, find simplicity, From discord, find harmony.

When you’re curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.

I never view mistakes as failures. They are simply opportunities to find out what doesn’t work.

I never view mistakes as failures. They are simply opportunities to find out what doesn’t work.

God gives His gifts where He finds the vessel empty enough to receive them.

Don’t keep a man guessing too long – he’s sure to find the answer somewhere else

Self-reliance is the key to a vigorous life. A man must look inward to find his own answers.

I’ve found that there is always some beauty left – in nature, sunshine, freedom, in yourself; these can all help you.