Too Long for a Tweet, Too Short for a Blog Post XXX

Here's an excerpt from a book I am reading to Asher, "Minnie's Sacrifice," by Frances Harper, an African-American writer from the 19th century whose most famous work was the classic, "Iola Leroy."

And to tell you the truth, having passed most of my life in white society, I did not feel that the advantages of that society would have ever paid me for the loss of my self-respect, by passing as white, when I knew that I was colored; when I knew that any society, however cultivated, wealthy or refined, would not be a social gain to me, if my color and not my character must be my passport of admission. So, when I found out that I was colored, I made up my mind that I would neither be pitied nor patronized by my former friends; but that I would live out my own individuality and do for my race, as a colored woman, what I never could accomplish as a white woman."