“When a man raises himself from the lowest condition in society to the highest, mankind pays him the tribute of their admiration;

When he accomplishes this elevation by native energy, guided by prudence and wisdom, their admiration is increased;

But when his course, onward and upward, excellent in itself, furthermore proves possible what had hitherto been regarded as an impossible reform;

Then he becomes a shining light on which the aged may look with gladness, the young with hope, the downtrodden,
as a representative of what they themselves may become.”

- James McCune Smith on Frederick Douglass