Chesnutt was the first African American invited to write for this series and Frederick Douglass was the first African American biography included. Chesnutt and Douglass were men who played important roles in the history of African-Americans and the history of our country. ... The two books were the first works by an African American to be published by a major publishing house. ... He was a strong voice against the disfranchisement of African Americans, the showing of racist movies such as "The Birth of The Nation" and the publication of books denigrating African Americans. In 1928 ...

• Word Count: 913
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Frederick Douglass's Narrative acts as a protest literature against slavery. ... Unlike most African Americans, Frederick Douglass taught himself how to read and write along the way. ... As a free man Frederick Douglass was doing many things most African Americans were not able to do. ...

• Word Count: 726
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Malcolm X knew basic rules of literature, but became a reading buff after being arrested for burglary. ... He realized that he could arise from behind his prison bars as a fighter for African-Americans' rights and try to break down racial barriers. ... Frederick Douglass had practically no freedom whatsoever as an African-American in early nineteenth-century America. ... Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X were two African-American men from two different centuries. ... Frederick Douglass, the enslaved 19th-century African-American who appreciated the empowerment and rued the actual knowled...

• Word Count: 1007
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography