Frederick Douglass

the Novel

Frederick Douglass
A Legendary Face
by
Forest Hairston

Frederick Douglass was a fellow whom Harriet Tubman knew quite well. They were there together, conductors of the Underground Railroad, warriors fighting against the wailing wind. Frederick Douglass was born into slavery on February 7, 1817, in Tuckahoe, Maryland. His mother known as the beautiful slave woman, Harriet Bailey, named her son Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. Fortunately, young Frederick was assisted by his master's wife in educating himself. As it was, in 1838, he escaped from slavery to New Bedford, a quaint city in the free state of Massachusetts. And there hoping to avoid being captured as a fugitive slave, young Frederick changed his surname to Douglass.

Early on as a free person, Frederick Douglass displayed his oratorical excellence in association with the American Anti-Slavery Society. However, it was an organization propelled by white abolitionists with more self gratifying views that were often apart from the personal indignities felt by Blacks. He lectured against slavery, and instigated strategic recourse with both Black and White abolitionists including the notable leader, William Lloyd Garrison. But just as frequently, he worked closely with legendary Black abolitionists from New York and Philadelphia such as Charles B. Ray, James Forten, Robert Purvis, and James McCrummell. And he spoke on abolition platforms with famous Underground Railroad warriors like Josiah Henson, a man who helped nearly as many slaves escape from South to North as did Harriet Tubman.

Frederick Douglass relocated to Rochester, New York, and there in 1847, he became cofounder and editor of the North Star newspaper. Along with his abolition newspaper, Douglass was the head station-master of Rochester's Underground Railroad. His newspaper was so named North Star as to draw attention to the plight of runaway slaves who more often searched the dark sky for the guiding North Star. At his business office and home in Rochester, Frederick Douglass harbored scores of runaway fugitives with food and shelter--friends and freedom.

Black History

Black Legends

And so, his legendary face shall ever remain here as an elite warrior. Without a doubt, he was that one eloquent Black abolitionist who could speak out against every argument. And Frederick Douglass did just that. His North Star newspaper dramatized the dastardly ills inflicted on Black people being held in bondage. He spoke out at the small town hall, at the church, and this great man spoke out to people on the street. And still, Frederick Douglass spoke to President Abraham Lincoln at the White House in Washington, D. C. Frederick Douglass . . . a warrior. And he has left it here for us all to cherish. It's something called Black Legacy.