I pity from the bottom of my heart any individual who is so unfortunate as to get into the habit of holding race prejudice. - Booker T. Washington

It means a great deal, I think, to start off on a foundation which one has made for oneself.

One thing that has taught me to dislike politics is the observation that, as soon as any person or thing becomes the subject of political discussion, he or it at once assumes in the public mind an importance out of all proportion to his or its real merits.

In many cases it seemed to me that the ignorance of my race was being used as a tool with which to help white men into office, and that there was an element in the North which wanted to punish the Southern white men by forcing the Negro into positions over the heads of the Southern whites.