“I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.”
英语
“我宁愿忠于自己，即使冒着被他人嘲笑的风险，也不愿虚伪行事，招致自己内心的厌恶。”
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
英语
“没有斗争就没有进步。”
“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”
英语
“权力不会在没有要求的情况下做出任何让步。过去不会，将来也不会。”
“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.”
英语
“在正义被否认的地方，在贫穷被强加的地方，在愚昧盛行的地方，在任何一个阶级被迫感到社会是一个有组织的阴谋来压迫、掠夺和贬低他们的地方，无论人身还是财产都不会安全。”
“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”
英语
“一旦你学会了阅读，你就永远自由了。”
简化改述。道格拉斯在其自传中对识字表达了更加细致的看法。
“I prayed for three years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.”
英语
“我祈祷了三年却没有得到回应，直到我用双腿去祈祷。”