Men are not superior by reason of the accidents of race or color. They are superior who have the best heart — the best brain. Superiority is born of honesty, of virtue, of charity, and above all, of the love of liberty. The superior man is the providence of the inferior. He is eyes for the blind, strength for the weak, and a shield for the defenseless. He stands erect by bending above the fallen. He rises by lifting others.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator

Speech (1883-10-22), “Liberty,” Address on the Civil Rights Act, Lincoln Hall, Washington, D. C.
    (Source)

Discussing the US Supreme Court's striking down of the Civil Rights Act of 1875.