AN INTERVIEW WITH FREDERICK DOUGLASS PT1

Frederick Douglass 1818-1895

Born into slavery in February of 1818 on the Eastern
Shore of Maryland, his future was as bleak as any slave
before him, and he suffered great pain and indignity.
As a young adult, after escaping slavery, he used that
power to fight for justice and equal opportunity.

QUESTION: How were you caught when you first tried to escape from slavery?


Mr. Douglass' reply: "The first attempt that I had made to escape occured during my second year of living on the farm of Mr. William Freeland. I was going to escape with four of my friends on that plantation but we were betrayed. There was a fifth person who was joining us by the name of Sandy Jenkins. I'm not sure - in fact, none of us would be willing to admit at all - that we thought that Sandy, as close a friend and brother as he was to us, that he would have betrayed us. But, I believe that if he did not, then the truth is, perhaps our behavior - we seemed at times to be a little too joyous, a little too happy - that our behavior was just a little different from what it had normally been. And of course slave masters and slave owners were very very very watchful. And anytime they saw behavior that they thought was at all different it aroused their suspicions. So I would be willing to say that perhaps we created a certain amount of suspicion within the mind of Mr. William Freeland. And also there was the possibility that someone, hopefully not, but perhaps it was Sandy Jenkins did in fact betray us."


YOU CAN ASK FREDERICK DOUGLASS A QUESTION!

To honor his legacy, a life-like animation, set in an exact replica of Douglass' study in his Anacostia home was created for THEARC and is available to the community. Interactive performances are also possible where the animation will answer questions from the audience! More than two hours of Douglass' famous speeches are recorded in varying lengths and complexity and programmed with coordinated body movements. The end result is dramatic and awe inspiring!



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