Frederick Douglass Hypocrisy

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Frederick Douglass is arguably the most famous and influential anti-abolitionist and African American of the 1800s. His autobiography, “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave” was written in 1845 and describes Douglass’s struggles as a black man born into slavery in Maryland (“The Hypocrisy of American Slavery”). Douglass’s biography is written with the conviction and the explicitness that only a former slave would have, and he quickly became rose as a leader amongst 19th century abolitionists of the time. By 1852, only seven years after writing his autobiography, Douglass had settled in Rochester, New England, as a freeman (“The Hypocrisy of American Slavery”).
There, he continued to fight for racial quality. He published The North Star, an abolitionist newspaper, helped escaped slaves to reach Canada, and worked to desegregate Rochester’s public schools (“The Hypocrisy of American Slavery”). He had become a symbol of freedom and independence for
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It’s always good to celebrate one’s culture and history, but with Black History month and Black Lives Matter protests happening all over the country today, it’s a grim reminder that African Americans are still fighting for their right to be treated equally in America. It is also interesting that many of the gaslighting techniques used by anti-black racists in the 19th century are still being used today: “Would you argue more and denounce less, would you persuade more and rebuke less, your cause would be much more likely to succeed.” I think that if others in the class are not interested in this speech for these same reasons, perhaps they should be. Even if they do not believe in Black Lives Matter or other equality activist groups, I don’t believe they have any credibility arguing against these activist groups if they are not educated about anti-black racism in