There is no escape for the fly until its restless activities discover the right direction, and, to change the figure, there is none for the Negro out of his slough of despond until he can lay hold of the ballot.
This quote emphasizes the necessity of political engagement for African Americans to overcome systemic oppression.
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More from Archibald Henry Grimké
The difference between this motto of the Liberator and that of the Free Press: Our country, our whole country, and nothing but our country--measures the greatness of the revolution which had taken place in the young editor.
I cannot conceive why a black man may not as reasonably object to my color, as I to his.
I am invited to occupy a broader field, and to engage in a higher enterprise; that field embraces the whole country--that enterprise is in behalf of the slave population.
I was too proud to beg, and ashamed to borrow.