Abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass once stated "Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." As a lover of history I can boldly say that Douglass was the first major figure among African-Americans to advocate education. He was also one of the first during his time to write a narrative on his life as a slave. Myself and this great master of determination actually have a lot in common. Time will be the best teller when the both of us will make a connection.
For sometime in my childhood I had a reading disability. I hated reading out loud. And if I was assigned to present something in front of a class I would get nervous and look around with a blank stare. Every now and than I would bawl up and cry. This was indeed annoying and would take years to overcome.
Eventually, I would get over my reading disability and my fear of public speaking. The reading disability would start to come an end while I was in high school. As it regarded public speaking I would take a Speech 100 course while attending BMCC. The professor that instructed the class was a breath of fresh air. She was hands down one of the best professors I've ever had. Years that followed I would become confident while speaking in front of crowds.
During the early morning of July 5, 2015 I would be the victim of a vicious attack by a man who battled mental illness and had a lengthy criminal history. Getting my face punched into the concrete my much young autistic brother is yelling at us both while we're tussling on the ground. Out of all the faces that were watching one man that lived in the neighboring building broke it up. This whole fiasco caused my brother to miss his bus. Of course I would be the one to take him to school.
Once my brother was safely placed in school I would ride the Bx.30 to Norwood. Before my mother would leave the house in a rush and worried she gave me twenty bucks and told me to buy a book. The bus stopped across from Bay Plaza and I got off. Walking to the Barnes & Nobles that was replaced by a popular clothing store I had no idea as to what book I would buy.
I don't know how it happened, but the minute I walked through the door I knew exactly what to buy. Heading to the front desk I asked for The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave and was guided to the "Black History" section. Walking home I remember feeling empowered and bold, ready to seek wisdom and advise from a man that gave determination a face. It's not the book you read, it's the time in which you read it. The same would go for Douglass' narrative. When I read the lines that said "It was than when I learned the white man's power over the black man: the ability to read and write." A state of ecstasy shot up in my bones. If I was to be involved in education I would definitely recommend Douglass' narrative to anyone who would want to get an understanding of slavery during Antebellum.
Mr. Douglass means a lot to a lot of people. He was a statesman and a representative to his people. Mr. Douglass is also the reason we have Black History Month (thanks to the efforts of Dr. Carter G. Woodson). If Harriet Tubman was emancipating on the ground Douglass was opening eyes with the printed word. One will hope that generations to come will find the words of this American hero as impactful and prophetic as I did.
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