You probably know your birthday. Frederick Douglass never knew his. That was not considered important for a child born into slavery. Douglass was born in Maryland in February 1818. He chose February 14 as his birthday. He became one of the most important Americans.
Douglass learned to read at age 7. That gave him a taste of freedom. At age 20, Douglass escaped from slavery. Anna Murray helped. Douglass took a train to Pennsylvania. Then he went to New York. He married Murray 11 days later. Douglass described his new freedom. “I lived more in one day than in a year of my slave life,” he wrote.
Douglass was free. But he wanted everyone to be free. Douglass worked to end slavery. He gave speeches across America. He edited a newspaper. And he wrote books. February 14 is now Frederick Douglass Day.
The National Portrait Gallery honored Douglass. The museum in Washington, D.C., created an called “One Life: Frederick Douglass.” The show has images from Douglass’s life — which ended on February 20, 1895. John Stauffer was the . He told News-O-Matic about it.
“I wanted to show objects that connected Douglass’s world with ours,” said Stauffer. The expert tried “to capture the long of Douglass’s life.” That includes his time “from a slave to free and famous leader.”
The exhibition has the slave ledger of Douglass’s owner. It shows Douglass’s birth name — Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. It also shows he was born in 1818. There’s an early photo of Douglass from 1845 too. Stauffer called that “breathtaking.”
“One Life: Frederick Douglass” opened in 2023. “I want visitors to appreciate the power and beauty of his voice,” said Stauffer. That includes his work “as a writer, , and picture-maker,” he explained. “It still has the power to change hearts and minds,” he added.
Douglass worked to give everyone equal rights. Yet Stauffer believes the United States is still not equal for all. He said Frederick Douglass can teach a lesson. As he explained:
“Learning about his life offers a way forward.”
Updated February 12, 2024, 5:01 P.M. (ET)
By Russell Kahn (Russ)
