Quotes by Martin Delany

“If we treated everyone we meet with the same affection we bestow upon our favorite cat, they, too, would purr.”

“A serpent is a serpent, and none the less a viper, because it is nestled in the bosom of an honest-hearted man.”

“Our elevation must be the result of self-efforts and work of our own hands. No other human power can accomplish it. If we but determine it shall be so, it will be so.”

“Every people should be originators of their own destiny.”

“We must make an issue, create an event, and establish a national position for ourselves: and never may expect to be respected as men and women, until we have undertaken some fearless, bold, and adventurous deeds of daring . . .”