FREDERICK DOUGLASS INTERVIEW PT 4

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: Why Didn't Slaves Fight Back At Their Owners?

Mr. Douglass' answer: At this distance of time, it may seem odd that the slave did not try to fight back. The truth of the matter is that there were many slaves who did not fight back. Many of them were killed; many of them were banished into the south-into the deep south-those states of Florida, Louisana, Mississippi. But perhaps the main reason slaves did not fight back at their owners was because they felt that it was futile to do so. The slave-owners had guns, not only the whips. So out of a sense of fear slaves sometimes found other ways to fight back at their owners than just rebelling. Many times slaves would adopt a kind of "slow-down." They would act as if they didn't understand what directions they were being given by the overseers; they would act "stupid;" they would act "dumb;" they would act as if they couldn't understand what the owner or the slave overseer was trying to make them understand. The reason for that, it is my belief, is that slaves instinctively understood that the most important thing as a slave was to stay alive. I recall my Grandpappy Isaac telling me that if a slave was dead, he could not do anything, but that every day a slave was alive was another day that a slave might find some way in which he could escape from slavery."

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, complexity and programmed with coordinated body movements. The end result is dramatic and awe inspiring!


During Black History month Mr. Douglass’ answers to the pre programmed questions will be posted in THEARC blog.

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



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