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A review by wellworn_soles
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave & Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Frederick Douglass, Harriet Ann Jacobs
4.0
Oftentimes, I feel I can almost create a formula for the amount of dedication I will owe a work based on the year it was written. With anything earlier than 1960, I can add an extra 10% brain power required to understand the text with every previous decade. Something like that; the formula isn’t actually written out.
This book does not fall into such a category. Despite being two centuries old, Frederick Douglass’s account of his life is salient, cogent and vigorous. While of course the content made me ache at times, the writing itself carried me effortlessly through Douglass’s experiences in a way I’ve rarely seen emulated. I can imagine this work read out at an abolitionist convention, and absolutely can resonate with the tour de force it would inspire when people heard it from the lips of Frederick himself.
Coming off the haunches of Michelle Alexander’s seminal The New Jim Crow, I was further convinced of the use of racism as a tool to divide the working classes. Douglass has manifold examples of the way racism and slavery not only atrophy the integrity of the enslaved under its’ heel, but also the masters who squander their humanity to commit atrocity.
One of the most clear in my mind is his description of the working class white dockworkers fearing for their livelihoods as more black workers entered their vocation. Instead of banding together to demand good working conditions for all, the lower class whites were cruel and protested to remove African American dockworkers in order to save their own jobs. These exacerbated tensions came from a perceived scarcity of work and wealth; a belief that works well with the desires of the wealthy and landed elite. It makes one contemplate: how often have similar scenarios played out, and how often does it continue to? And how can we begin to root out the lies that divide us and continue to impoverish the marginalized? Douglass doesn’t provide answers, but he does provide evidence, strength, and clarity. And across the sea of years and memory I am very grateful for that.
This book does not fall into such a category. Despite being two centuries old, Frederick Douglass’s account of his life is salient, cogent and vigorous. While of course the content made me ache at times, the writing itself carried me effortlessly through Douglass’s experiences in a way I’ve rarely seen emulated. I can imagine this work read out at an abolitionist convention, and absolutely can resonate with the tour de force it would inspire when people heard it from the lips of Frederick himself.
Coming off the haunches of Michelle Alexander’s seminal The New Jim Crow, I was further convinced of the use of racism as a tool to divide the working classes. Douglass has manifold examples of the way racism and slavery not only atrophy the integrity of the enslaved under its’ heel, but also the masters who squander their humanity to commit atrocity.
One of the most clear in my mind is his description of the working class white dockworkers fearing for their livelihoods as more black workers entered their vocation. Instead of banding together to demand good working conditions for all, the lower class whites were cruel and protested to remove African American dockworkers in order to save their own jobs. These exacerbated tensions came from a perceived scarcity of work and wealth; a belief that works well with the desires of the wealthy and landed elite. It makes one contemplate: how often have similar scenarios played out, and how often does it continue to? And how can we begin to root out the lies that divide us and continue to impoverish the marginalized? Douglass doesn’t provide answers, but he does provide evidence, strength, and clarity. And across the sea of years and memory I am very grateful for that.