People are taking it for granted that [the Negro] ought not to work with his head. And it is so easy for these people among whom we are living to believe this; it flatters and satisfies their self-complacency.
Source: c. Aug 1898.
-- Paul Laurence Dunbar, (Jun 27 1872-1906), US poet, novelist, short-story writer; He was the first African American poet to gain a national audience; wrote four volumes of poetry including Oak and Ivy.