Читать книгу Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - Frederick Douglass - Страница 6

By Debra Newman Ham & Tom Butler-Bowdon

As an ex-slave, orator, journalist and political organizer who challenged both slavery and institutional racism in America, Frederick Douglass was a seminal figure of the nineteenth century. He arguably did more than anyone to turn the country against the “peculiar institution”.

Douglass's Narrative is one of the first accounts of slavery by a fugitive slave. It is both a balanced first-hand insight into his own harrowing story, and a window into the common slavery practices in his time, including its destruction of family life, extreme poverty, absence of legal rights, and dearth of education.

Douglass was a mesmerizing speaker, and audiences could scarcely believe that his eloquent speeches came from a black man, let alone a former slave. But by setting down his account in writing, he would put to rest the doubts of many.

The separation, cruelty, neglect, injustice, and prevention of learning Douglass experienced would on the surface appear to be the recipe for all manner of physical and psychological disorders. The fact that Douglass emerged not only alive, but sane and prosperous, is testament to the power of the individual against overwhelming odds.