The Afro-American is not a bestial race. If this work can contribute in any way towards proving this, and at the same time arouse the conscience of the American people to a demand for justice to every citizen, and punishment by law for the lawless, I shall feel I have done my race a service. Other considerations are of minor importance.

Selected Works of Ida B. Wells-Barnett (ed. Oxford University Press on Demand, 1991) - ISBN: 9780195062021