10 Frederick Douglass Quotes Still Incredibly Relevant Today

Frederick Douglass (Feb. 14, 1817 – Feb. 20, 1895) was an African-American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. Douglass escaped from slavery and subsequently became a leader of the abolitionist movement, known for his dazzling oratory and powerful antislavery writings — a living rejection of the racist argument that enslaved Black people lacked the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens. The Relationship Between Struggle and Progress This is one of Douglass' most oft-repeated quotes, one that seems always relevant to the Black community: "If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground." The Nature of Power Douglass spent time watching and advising powerful men, and wielded considerable power himself. He understood that "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will." Building Strong Children These are words that modern American society has been all too willing to ignore: "It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." A Message to the American People About Justice For anyone truly in search of justice, Douglass reminds us that it can be messy: “The American people have this to learn: that where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither person nor property is safe.” Be True to Yourself Douglass explains what might lead him to self-loathing: "I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence." Young Frederick Unutterable Loathing Douglass eloquently describes the pain of the Africans in America: "In thinking of America, I sometimes find myself admiring her bright blue sky — her grand old woods — her fertile fields — her beautiful rivers — her mighty lakes, and star-crowned mountains. But my rapture is soon checked, my joy is soon turned to mourning. When I remember that all is cursed with the infernal actions of slaveholding, robbery and wrong, — when I remember that with the waters of her noblest rivers, the tears of my brethren are borne to the ocean, disregarded and forgotten, and that her most fertile fields drink daily of the warm blood of my outraged sisters, I am filled with unutterable loathing.” No Chains Douglass describes the relationship between the oppressed and the oppressor: "No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck." Douglass Museum Virtuous Nation? Will America ever reach this point of security that Douglass describes? "The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful and virtuous." And can a Black man ever be a true patriot? "I make no pretension to patriotism. So long as my voice can be heard on this or the other side of the Atlantic, I will hold up America to the lightning scorn of moral indignation. In doing this, I shall feel myself discharging the duty of a true patriot; for he is a lover of his country who rebukes and does not excuse its sins. It is righteousness that exalteth a nation while sin is a reproach to any people." Douglass and Helen Pitts on honeymoon Singing to Drown Sorrow Douglass was shocked to find out when he traveled north that Northerners were drawing disturbing implications from the fact that enslaved Black people sometimes sang while they worked. "I have often been utterly astonished, since I came to the north, to find persons who could speak of the singing, among slaves, as evidence of their contentment and happiness. It is impossible to conceive of a greater mistake. Slaves sing most when they are most unhappy. The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart; and he is relieved by them, only as an aching heart is relieved by its tears. At least, such is my experience. I have often sung to drown my sorrow, but seldom to express my happiness. Crying for joy, and singing for joy, were alike uncommon to me while in the jaws of slavery. The singing of a man cast away upon a desolate island might be as appropriately considered as evidence of contentment and happiness, as the singing of a slave; the songs of the one and of the other are prompted by the same emotion." Douglass and Lincoln Religion and Slave-Trading, Hand in Hand Lest anyone fail to understand, Douglass makes clear the hypocrisy of Southern religion: "We have men sold to build churches, women sold to support the gospel, and babes sold to purchase Bibles for the poor heathen! All for the glory of God and the good of souls! The slave auctioneer's bell and the church-going bell chime in with each other, and the bitter cries of the heart-broken slave are drowned in the religious shouts of his pious master. Revivals of religion and revivals in the slave-trade go hand in hand."

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