Black History Fact #3

Despite what the Bile-Colored 45th President thinks or says (on live television), Frederick Douglass has been celebrated and recognized for his accomplishments and contributions to the United States for over a century.

Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) was an abolitionist, author, orator, and suffragist. Despite being born into slavery, he learned to read and developed a love for learning. In 1838, at the age of 20, Douglass  escaped slavery. He became a prominent activist and intellectual. Douglass wrote several autobiographies describing his experiences in slavery and his life after the Civil War. His first autobiography 

Narrative Of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

(1845) was a critically-acclaimed bestseller, that was used to galvanize support for the Abolitionist Movement. Douglass also founded and published his own weekly newspaper,  

The North Star

. He advised President Lincoln during the Civil War and served in public office positions under several US Presidents. To name a few, he was appointed US Marshal of the District of Columbia by President Hayes in 1877 and US Minister to Haiti by President Harrison in 1889. Frederick Douglass was the first black citizen to be nominated for Vice President of the United States as a member of the Equal Rights Party in 1872 (which also nominated the first female presidential candidateVictoria Woodhull as his running mate) in 1872.

Thank you Frederick Douglass for fighting for the freedom and rights of black people!