During February, the United States pauses and takes a moment to explore, appreciate, and acknowledge the culture and history of the African diaspora. During this time, we share and learn more about individuals' lived experiences, narratives, and contributions in the United States. Yet, did you know that Black History Month was initially recognized as a week-long appreciation and celebration of Black American history and a commitment to uplift and participate in humane practices economically, educationally, and politically?
Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a scholar and historian, founded and established Black History Week in February 1926. He believed historical societies and scholarship ignored the genuine lived experiences of the Black race. So Woodson created an institutional effort to honor the Black community's history and the contributions of African descendants during the second week of the month between Frederick Douglass' and President Abraham Lincoln's birthdays. Why did he select a week that centers on these two figures? President Lincoln played a significant role in Black History. He signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. This law freed slaves of African descent residing in Confederate states. Let's discover Douglass' significance—and keep in mind we have more than a hundred titles on Douglass at the Boston Public Library.
Frederick Douglass is significant to United States history because of his resilience and political activism. Douglass was born into slavery on a plantation in Maryland sometime in February 1818; it was rare to record enslaved people's birthdays. Later in life, he chose to celebrate his birthday on February 14. The evidence of his resiliency is first noted in his actions to learn how to read and write.
It was illegal for enslaved people to read and write. Yet, as a child, Douglass received literacy instruction while enslaved under Master Hugh's family for seven years (Douglass, 1845). His lessons first started with his mistress. He shared that she first saw him as a human being and began to teach him how to identify letters. Because it was frowned upon by her husband and enslaved people were considered chattel, she would brutally punish him if she saw any attempt to read and watch him closely. However, it did not stop him. Frederick (1845) states, "Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet, had given me the inch, and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ell" (p. 1082). He explained that his reading instruction extended when he befriended poor White boys in the neighborhood and along Philpot Street near Durgin and Bailey's shipyard. They would teach him how to read in exchange for bread. As their friendship grew, he would become vulnerable and talk about his yearning for freedom. His quality of life troubled his friends, and they would comfort him with the hope that things may change. At about twelve years old, Frederick read The Columbian Orator. The story represented his lived experiences. A slave of African descent ran away from his enslaver three times. The third time he ran away, the enslaver and the enslaved person engaged in a dialogue that granted the enslaved person his freedom. He became infuriated with the concept of people being stolen from their native land and forced into a life of enslavement. This story deepened his passion to become free and liberate others.
Douglass escaped slavery in his twenties and declared himself free when he arrived in New York City. His plan for freedom involved a free Black woman named Anna Murray, who became his wife. She purchased his train ticket, and he disguised himself as a sailor. Because of the fugitive slave law, they settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and lived with Nathan and Polly Johnson. While employed as a laborer, he attended abolitionist meetings and became an orator and agent for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. As a political activist, he spoke in the North and Midwest.
Massachusetts is known for anti-slave abolitionists, such as Captain John Walker, William Lloyd Garrison, and William C. Nell in the 19th century. In 1831, the New England Anti-Slavery Society was established. Yet, it is critical to understand Massachusetts' role in Black History beyond anti-slavery work. According to National Park Service, Massachusetts played a role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade of African people. Boston and Salem, Massachusetts, served as destinations for shipping crossing the Middle Passage. The first African slave trade involvement occurred in 1637. National Park Service explained that the ship Desire had sailed out of Salem to the Caribbean. The vessel carried and sold the Pequot people into slavery. On February 1638, the boat returned and docked in Boston with Africans to sell them. In 1641, Massachusetts Bay Colony passed the Body of Liberties, which legalized slavery. Yet, enslaved Africans in Massachusetts petitioned Britain for freedom, and the Boston port closed in 1774. Nine years later, in 1783, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Courts declared slavery was a violation of the state Constitution. When Frederick left Maryland, we do not know if he knew this history and if it fueled his work. However, we can imagine that he learned more about the state's role in slavery throughout his travels in Massachusetts.
According to Forristal, Douglass moved to Lynn, Massachusetts, with his family in late 1841 because he thought it would be a safer haven for fugitive slaves. That is where he wrote his first narrative (Douglass, 1845). Researchers Forristal, Prushinski, and Ribaudo shared that Frederick lived and spent eight years in Lynn, from 1841 to 1848. Yet, there are accounts of him living in England to avoid getting captured between 1845 and 1847 while moving to Rochester, New York, later in 1847. While living in Lynn, he delivered his first speech on January 27, 1842, at the Massachusetts State House at 23 years old as a fugitive slave. This freedom fighter advanced his work as an abolitionist by becoming an editor and publishing newspapers that fought against racism and uplifted women's rights. First, he published The North Star paper (1847-1851), and then Frederick Douglass' Paper (1851-1860).
In addition to his writing, Douglass played a significant role in recruiting volunteer soldiers of African descent for the Civil War to help end slavery. These men, including his sons, served on the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. According to National Park Service, Douglass argued and did the following:
"…freedom would be empty if the formerly enslaved were not guaranteed the rights and protections of American citizen. A series of postwar amendments sought to make some of these tremendous changes. The 13th Amendment (ratified in 1865) abolished slavery, the 14th Amendment (ratified in 1868) granted national birthright citizenship, and the 15th Amendment (ratified in 1870) stated nobody could be denied voting rights on the basis of race, skin color, or previous servitude."
After the Civil War, he held high-ranking federal office positions. Douglass continued to fight for racial equity, access, and reality, especially for Black people throughout the reconstruction period. Douglass's story inspires us to ask ourselves what it means to be human. Moreover, his legacy promotes notions and ideas to create a society that uplifts humanity. That's what Black history represents.
This historical account of Black resistance, the fight for social justice, and visibility shed light on some of Black History's roots in the United States and the lived experience of a leader and his contributions. Readers are encouraged to learn about the Black community and culture to create a society for all. Learning about the Black community could be accomplished through reading, visiting local museums, attending programs, and conducting research at your local library.
You can also schedule an appointment with a BPL librarian in Research Services to conduct research about African Americans and the diaspora.
Learn more about Boston Public Library's celebration of Black History Month in this recent news post.
References
Douglass, F. (1845). Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself. Boston: Anti-Slavery Office.
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