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

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 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.

Educate your sons and daughters, send them to school, and show them that beside the cartridge box, the ballot box, and the jury box, you also have the knowledge box.

A woman should have every honorable motive to exertion which is enjoyed by man, to the full extent of her capacities and endowments.

Oppression makes a wise man mad.

Allow yourself to make mistakes. Embrace being a work in progress.

Allow yourself to transform as many times as you need to be truly free

Letting go is one of the most valuable lessons when it comes to allowing the great to show up.

Life doesn’t allow you to feel comfortable when you are limiting yourself.

Women should not be allowed on juries where the accused is a stud.

Promoting active liberty does not mean allowing the majority to run roughshod over minorities.

I put God first and do not allow other things to cloud my vision.

Don’t allow anyoneto tell you your worth & the path you need to take.