Frederick Douglas

The reading that we about Frederick Douglas was really interesting to me. I have always been a huge fan of Frederick Douglas, but I never really knew that much about his life. It really struck me that Douglas needed to have huge strength and bravery to do what he did. First, he taught himself to read, then he stood up to his overseer, then he had the courage and ability to try and run away. After all of this, he was then willing to write about it and flee to Europe so he wouldn't get killed. I am fully aware that many people would not have that kind of personal strength.
It also got me thinking about the other readings that we have done for this class. Every single black writer that we have read from the pre-Civil War era put their lives on the line to tell their stories or share their beliefs. Even the folktales and songs could have been dangerous if the slaves' white masters had heard them and interpreted them correctly. This really shed a whole new light on everything that we have read in class. Even if I do not agree with everything that is said in the readings I have complete respect for these people who were willing to write them.