Forever Unfit

Frederick Douglass' Pathway from Slavery to Freedom

A daguerreotype of Frederick Douglass, c. 1850 (Photo: National Portrait Gallery).

Last week, I introduced a question I’ve held since childhood—who survives hell on earth? I shared Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s answer to that question and this week, I’m going to look at an answer provided by Frederick Douglass.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, published in 1845, contains the harrowing account of Douglass’ early life of slavery up to his escape to the north. At the age of 8, he went to live with a new master, Mr. Auld, whose wife began to teach Douglass the ABCs. This was forbidden and once Mr. Auld got wind of what was going on, he angrily said the following to Mrs. Auld:

“Now if you teach that ni***r how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave.”

Something clicked for young Frederick:

“From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom.”

He continued:

“That which to him [Mr. Auld] was a great evil, to be carefully shunned, was to me a great good, to be diligently sought; and the argument which he so warmly urged, against my learning to read, only served to inspire me with a desire and determination to learn. In learning to read, I owe almost as much to the bitter opposition of my master, as to the kindly aid of my mistress. I acknowledge the benefit of both.”

Illiteracy and slavery were connected. To break that spell, Douglass needed to learn how to read. And that’s exactly what he did in clever and secret ways.

Reading gave him a North Star. Something to occupy his mind amidst the horror of slavery. He still had points where he thought he would break, but knowing that illiteracy and slavery were connected drove him to pursue literacy and freedom.

Have you read Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass? It's a short but incredibly powerful book that has stayed with me. Listen to my podcast episode to hear why:

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass