AN INTERVIEW WITH FREDERICK DOUGLASS PT 3

FREDERICK DOUGLASS 1818-1895; ABOLITIONIST, ORATOR AND STATESMAN

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.

QUESTION: Did you see a lot of families broken apart when you were a slave?

Mr. Douglass' answer: "Yes, many. Because you must understand that keeping families broken up was the main technique by which the slaveowners were able to maintain their control over the slave. If we recognize that it is in our families that we begin to develop a sense of our own individual identity and if we don't have that family then we cannot form that identity. And of course, when we have no control over who we are-when we have no sense of who we are-then, we basically listen to what anyone tells us to do. And so, I can say, yes I saw many families broken apart, because I saw many slaves and many of them had no sense of who they really were."

QUESTION: How did slave-owners prevent escapes and rebellions?

Mr. Douglass' answer: "Well, through fear... through creating a reign of terror. The fact that a slave could get whipped just by giving a glance that was misinterpreted by the overseer or the slaveowner-it caused the slave not to want to do anything, except what he was being asked or told and commanded to do.

QUESTION: Was there any point (any specific instances) where you were about to give up?

Mr. Douglass' answer: One instance was when I was living with Edward Covey, the slave-breaker. During those first months with him, when he was whipping me - it seemed like almost everyday - I felt as if my life had no purpose, no significance, and I was about ready to give up.
But somehow everyday came, and everyday I was awake, and everyday there...it seemed like it might be a possibility that I might not be whipped, and as a result there might be a chance of something better happening.

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!

For more information please email info@thearcdc.org or call 202-4-THEARC or 202-484-3272.

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“One of the best small charities in the greater Washington region”