Feb 14th Holds Frederick Douglass Day and National Black Literacy Day Too

How many North Americans know about an easily forgotten Black man who, after fleeing slavery in the United States, became arguably the best known and most photographed person of the 1800s?

Frederick Douglass, who maybe little known in the 2020s was a former slave who upon escape became a counterexample to the toxic propaganda about slaves and freedmen. After slavery, the Blackest thing you could be was to resemble Douglass’ example.

Generations after the height of Mr. Douglass’ multinational renown, to be articulate, smart and well-read is again the opposite of what North Americans expect from Black Americans.

Valentine’s Day and Black History Month both mark February. Other observances in February include Frederick Douglass Day and National Black Literacy Day.

When the dominant culture in 2020s hearkens to the 1800s, preferring that you not know the greatness which might lay in your non-white peoples, you have a choice.

Mr. Douglass, a man who, after fleeing chattel slavery in the United States and speaking world-wide, became the most photographed American of the 1800s.

Research via Perplexity AI shows the cultural beacon, which Douglass became to Black Americans, “Defying expectations: Douglass’s articulate speeches and writings directly contradicted the racist beliefs of the time. Northerners found it hard to believe that such a great orator had once been enslaved, which led Douglass to write his first autobiography to address this disbelief.

1. Living counterexample: Abolitionists presented Douglass as a living counterexample to claims by slavery supporters that enslaved people lacked the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens1.
2. Powerful oratory: Douglass’s speeches were noted for their wit, arguments, sarcasm, and pathos. The New York Tribune recognized him among the nation’s top 200 lecturers for his exceptional rhetorical ability3.

It is morose that for many  Millennials and in GenZ, Black history icon Frederick Douglass and his favorite and formative book “The Columbian Orator” are too ancient of history.

From the 1840s, the novelty among whites of a Black person who defied persistent and toxic images of ignorant and sub-human Blacks was key to Douglass’ celebrity.

The persistence of “street knowledge” and “street cred” among some poorer neighborhoods makes Black Americans who are articulate and brilliant into oddities. Among Black Americans in particular, slighted in common American popular culture and imagination as happily ignorant and inevitably criminal, Mr. Douglass’ talents in critical thinking and communications are prizes. More than 100 years after the height of Mr. Douglass’ multinational renown, venturing beyond street knowledge wreaks a social toll. The pressure to fit in is a stressor.

To know your people’s history and make a habit of reading are forms of self-care. With the abundant çontent among social media channels you might be able to learn via video? But that will demand vigilant media literacy when you seek credible and accurate videos. Deftly written unbiased books are easily available.

Consider National Black Literacy Day, knowing the history of your people, and a reading habit connote self-care: What Douglass attained in wit, written and oratorical skills remain a phenomenon which too many audiences slight as “sounding white”.

A crisis may lie in the evidence showing that children seldom have reading habits if their parents don’t make the example by reading. A question: Should Black parents trust schools with their children reading?

According to The Education Trust, 7.8% of Black Americans hold advanced degrees. And according to the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, 28.1% of Black Americans hold bachelor’s degrees.

Each of us makes decisions. Is fitting in a greater goal, or respecting your Black wit and literacy a greater one? This needn’t be an either-or matter as we respect what Frederick Douglass gained from his exposure to “The Columbian Orator” and practice with its lessons.