December 2, 2024
Frederick Douglas escaped from slavery 186 years ago in 1838. He was a bad ass. Smart as hell. And lots of people thought (and alleged) that it was impossible that he could be so intelligent since he was black, and a former slave. So, what did he do?
He wrote. Three books. What’s crazy to me is that he wrote his first two autobiographies before the 1855 US Supreme Court decision that maybe some of you remember reading about called “Dred Scott v. Sandford” (commonly referred to as the “Dred Scott decision”) where the court ruled that black people were not U.S. citizens.
Can you imagine? I can’t really.
But his third and final autobiography was called “Life and Times of Frederick Douglass.” It was published in 1881.
And 143 years later, I walked down Alley Gallery in Downtown Wichita, meandered in the door of Left on Read (newly opened bookstore), saw Frederick Douglass’s third autobiography and immediately snagged it.
We learn from history. Hopefully. Thanks, Left on Read for the book.
— TKG
