Frederick Douglass is perhaps one of the most
influential African American abolitionists, writers, and
reformers. Before he became all of these things, he was Frederick Augustus
Washington Bailey, a young man born into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland.
Many events changed that young boy into the man he became and also served to
shape his identity as a revolutionary figure in history.
He had no recollection of his birthday, most slaves didn’t.
The fact that he was deprived of that privilege was probably his first
recollection of the unfair treatment by whites of the enslaved individuals.
Throughout his childhood, he could only make estimates based on his master once
mentioning that he was about seventeen during the year 1835.
Although Douglass knew his mother, Harriet
Bailey, he would not have the luxury of being with her for an extended period
of time because, like most enslaved children, he was separated from her. He
lived with his maternal grandmother for most of his early life. However, his
father was a white man, and also his master.
One experience that stood out, besides the
savage beatings, was the way enslaved individuals were fed. They were served
cornmeal in a large trough or trays on the floor, their dining experience
similar to those of pigs or horses, not of human beings. Douglass describes a
survival-of-the-fittest style of living, where who eats the fastest got the
most and thus became the strongest and the rest would be left without or
unsatisfied.
Douglass went on to become a hero in the eyes of many, with the vision to fight for black citizenship and freedom. These few experiences are only a glimpse into the horrible childhood he encountered. Though they weren’t pleasant, they play a major role in his identity as a man, a hero, and an icon.
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Mario Providence is a student at North Harris College.
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