David W. Blight

"... in his living situation in Baltimore, his intellectual curiosity exploding in the midst of the stultifying Auld household, gazing out on ships parting and arriving in the harbor, Douglass realized that slaveholders fear of outside denunciation...provided proof he was not alone." p. 51
And so began the inspiration for Douglass to reach others who could join him in an endeavor for freedom, not just for himself, but all those in bondage.
This is a very dense book- full of facts, quotes, excerpts of speeches, newspaper editorials, letters, and photographs.
The book chronicles the rich life and influences of Frederick Douglass- not just his professional life as an abolitionist, journalist, orator, and writer, but his personal life. This makes the "prophet" more human. He was beset with family problems, money woes, and scandals. He certainly was not perfect. He was anti-Catholic, dismissive of cultural plurality, and not completely supportive of women's rights. Still, he was a man to be admired.
… (mer)

Facing a seven-hour drive, I picked up this audiobook so that I wouldn’t have to listen to a business book for that long in one day. The author David Blight had won a Pulitzer Prize and is renowned for his annals of African-American history. I knew his writing to be eloquent and clear, and his observations of human nature, compassionate and acute. I had great hopes for this drive, and thankfully, with Blight’s erudite help, it passed very quickly. I was drawn into and moved by these self-written life stories of two self-emancipated slaves.

Self-written emancipation narratives are extremely rare. Though oral stories circulated in American culture after the Civil War, few were written down. Even fewer were written down by the formerly enslaved person themselves. These two narratives fit squarely in that category, grammatical errors and all. Only in recent decades, the public became aware of them. Blight artfully retells each of these stories for modern readers and then shares both stories in their original, unedited form.

Listening to this book is like peeling a vidalia onion, each step slightly tear-inducing yet commingled with a savory sweetness. Blight opens with an introduction and then tells their stories using scholarly knowledge to bring modern readers up to speed. Then, he shares broader historical information not in the original accounts, like what we know happened to them afterwards and how their lives fit into wider American history. Finally, the essential core is shared in the life stories in the self-emancipated heroes themselves, told in their own words. The entire product is moving and engrossing.

John Washington was enslaved in Virginia yet became literate as a city slave. After escaping, he ended up helping the Union army while fighting for his wife and children’s freedom. Wallace Turnage, enslaved in the fields of Alabama, tried to escape an impressive five times as a teenager before finally succeeding. Turnage’s tale became more exciting each time I heart it, and the final telling – in his own words – stirred my heart within. He overcame being hunted, whippings, hunger, daunting landscapes, and the waters of Mobile Bay in order to gain freedom. What better voice to tell of America’s deep meaning!

Since after the Civil War all the way to today, many white people have tried to sweep slavery’s unseemliness into a forgotten past. That’s unfortunate. Not only is that unjust for people still struggling with similar racist obstacles today, but it also lacks the depths of inspiration for all of us. People like John Washington and Wallace Turnage are inspiring human beings for what they overcame to treasure life’s freedoms. They just happened to be black slaves. They are proud emblems of America. During the upcoming Black History Month, they inspire me, a white man with plenty of privilege, to learn more about the people around me in America and to benefit from their stories, their courage, and their heart.… (mer)

This was the book I’d been reading on and off for a couple of years—a bit of a doorstop, this one, and a challenge to read anywhere except on a comfy chair and a bright light. I picked the book up after reading, in succession, all three versions of Douglass’s Life and Times. (I know that sounded strange. But it becomes apparent how Douglass expands on sections he previously glossed over (like his escape) or portrays key incidents differently. It's fascinating, for instance, to read how Douglass remembers his mother, or chooses to remember his mother, from version to version.)

Blight pores through Douglass's writings and letters (and interestingly, what’s missing from the letters) to create a complex historical and psychological portrait of “the greatest American who ever lived.” It sometimes feels too stuffed with historical detail; Douglass was constantly on speaking tours, and so we are repeatedly told of his itinerary, what he ate, who he met, and so on. What worked best for me were Blight’s close readings of Douglass’s speeches, and how Douglas metaphorically positions himself in relation to the Biblical prophets, or the rupture and tumult of the previous few decades of American history, or his own personal biography.… (mer)