"My own thoughts," he wrote, "have been completely changed by reading
and reflection. There are three aspects of this subject which I wish to
make clear to you. There is first the view that every colored man has
some sort of strange, mysterious curse resting upon him by a law of his
nature. The idea is that, although the black man in any given instance
may be superior, spiritually, intellectually, and physically, to his
white neighbor, yet he cannot equal him because of this mysterious
curse. This view, sad as it is (advocated by the white race), has
settled down upon the minds of millions of colored people. It has
crushed out of them all self-reliance and independence. It fastens
tenaciously upon the quiet, sensitive spirit, destroying its hope and
self-respect and enterprise. I need not tell you how near I have come to
being shipwrecked by its influence. But it is founded upon a lie. It is
a lie backed up by the assertion, practically, of nations and of
millions of intelligent persons acting in their individual capacity. It
is, however, none the less a base, malignant falsehood, robbing the
spirit that is cowed and crushed by it of the sweetest possessions of
life. A similar falsehood has established castes in India, and still
another has subjugated woman in many lands, making her a soulless being
and the slave of man.

"If any black man has greater wisdom, strength, and goodness than the
majority of white men, he is higher in the scale of manhood than they.
The real question involved is a comparison of individuals, and not of
races.

"You will remember how Homer, in the Iliad, praises the blameless
Ethiopians, beloved of the gods and dwelling in a wide land that
stretches from the rising to the setting of the sun. The ancient
historians praise them also. Words of commendation of this great