I would rather go to hell by choice than to stumble into heaven by following the crowd.

Benjamin Mays (1894-1984) American minister, educator, civil rights leader

(Attributed)

Recalled about him by various secondary sources as a line he used while preaching to students at Morehouse College in the 1940s. (1, 2, 3, 4). Several sources point to the article "A Black Thorn in the White Conscience," Atlanta Journal and Constitution, page M-9 (18 Jan 1970).