Facing Frederick
The Life of Frederick Douglass, a Monumental American Man
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
From award-winning author Tonya Bolden comes the fascinating story of one of America’s most influential African American voices
Teacher. Self-emancipator. Orator. Author. Man. Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) is one of the most important African American figures in US history, best known, perhaps, for his own emancipation. But there is much more to Douglass’s story than his time spent in slavery and his famous autobiography. Delving into his family life and travel abroad, this book captures the whole complicated, and at times perplexing, person that he was. As a statesman, suffragist, writer, newspaperman, and lover of the arts, Douglass the man, rather than the historical icon, is the focus in Facing Frederick.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Adopting a conversational tone, Bolden (Crossing Ebenezer Creek) recounts the "legend's life" of "the de facto president of black America," Frederick Douglass, n Bailey (1818 1895). Douglass a self-emancipated slave, orator, writer, newspaper editor and owner, abolitionist, desegregationist, women's rights advocate, Underground railroad conductor, civil servant, and diplomat believed that slavery and racism constituted "twin-monsters of darkness." He fought against both, encouraging his audience to invest in durable assets such as education and skills, in order to improve their world. This informative, handsomely designed biography posits that Douglass's break from William Lloyd Garrison in the late 1840s constituted a turning point in Douglass's career; Bolden charts, in detail, his independent voice thereafter, through the battle for emancipation to enfranchisement and the fight against Jim Crow era "black codes." Contrasting the leonine and financially successful public figure backed in his early days by English abolitionists and fallible private person, Bolden skillfully interweaves the political developments of Douglass's time with his personal life. Archival photographs and illustrations, journalistic extracts, a timeline, and other resources are included. Ages 10 14.
