It is as impossible for the Negro to escape from his blind alley without the ballot as it is for some foolish fly, imprisoned on a window pane, to find its way to freedom through it.
Archibald Henry Grimké: “It is as impossible for the Negro to escape from his blind alley without the ballot as it is for some foolish fly…”
Editor's note · Context
Grimké uses a metaphor to illustrate the critical importance of voting rights for African Americans.
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