In reading about Fredrick Douglass I realized how much I truly admire the man for who he was and what he accomplished in the time he lived. Unlike the Holocaust which only lasted a few years the slaves in the states endured decades of oppression and wrong treatment. It has been said, "All that evil needs to succeed, is for good men to do nothing". All that slavery needed to survive all the years it did was good men and women taking so long to see the evil in slavery. Fredrick Douglass rose through all of this to educate himself from nothing to one of the most admired men in history. Through his life he was "Running to Stand Still" U2. In this U2 song it talks about how even though you are trying to go somewhere in your life, sometimes no matter how much you do, you are barely moving. Fredrick Douglass had some moments when he was doing everything he could but it seemed like he was stuck. Fredrick Douglass's life is this song. He shows how even though sometimes life seems to stop, eventually you keep moving to better days.
"I do not remember to have ever met a slave who could tell of his birthday The white children could tell their ages. I could not tell why I ought to be deprived of the same privilege." Pg 323. What a life to not even now how old one is. Growing up not knowing ones age or ones mother helped the white masters to maintain a certain level of ignorance amongst the slaves which allowed for easier control. Fredrick Douglass did not fit the normal mold of a slave. First he was half black half white. To most, including himself he did not see where he fit into this world separated by color, and him being both. Second, he had a willingness to learn despite what may happen to him or what trouble it may bring about. "You got to cry without weeping, talk without speaking, Scream without raising your voice." U2, and read without anyone seeing you, could also be added to the list for Fredrik Douglass.
