Abolitionist Frederick Douglass was the most photographed American of the 19th century, yet he never smiled in any photo, because he wanted to counter the notion of a happy slave.
Born in 1817 in Maryland, from slave parents — Frederick Douglass, was enslaved from birth onwards.
Keen to improve his condition in life, at age 12, he learned the alphabet from the slaveholder’s wife. However, his lessons were soon discontinued, because his slaveholder asked his wife to stop teaching him, under the belief that education would foster a desire for freedom.
But it was already too late…
Douglass continued to learn from the white children and others, in his neighborhood. He began to read newspapers, and devoured any books he could get his hands on.
Soon, he began teaching others how to read and write. More than 40 people would attend his secret lessons, until they were broken up, by an angry white mob.
At age 16, Douglass was sold to a brutal slave master by the name of Edward Covey, who was known as a “slave-breaker.”
Covey, whipped Douglass so regularly, that his wounds didn’t have time to heal. The beatings were so severe, that they broke Douglass’ body, soul, and spirit.
One day, Douglass could not take it anymore and fought back, and won. Covey could have had Douglass killed, but he didn’t want to risk his reputation. He never tried to beat him again.
In 1838, after several failed attempts, Douglass managed to escape slavery by boarding a north-bound train, and taking it all the way to New York City.
A year prior to his escape, he had met a woman named Anna Murray, who was a free black woman living in Baltimore.
He fell in love with her, and she, in turn, helped him escape by providing him with a sailor’s uniform, part of her savings to pay for travel expenses, identification papers, and protection papers.
Douglass later wrote about seeing New York City for the first time:
“A new world had opened upon me. If life is more than breath, and the quick round of blood — I lived more in one day, than in a year of my slave life. I felt as one might feel upon escape from a den of hungry lions.”
Yours,
Dr Churchill
PS:
If anything, Douglass taught us one thing:
Never give up on Life…
