Timothy Sandefur in Goldwater:
Today is the day that abolitionist and statesman Frederick Douglass chose to celebrate as his birthday. Those born into slavery, as Douglass was, were of course never told their actual birthdays; masters hardly considered such a thing worth remembering. But Douglass later recalled that the last time he had seen his mother was at the age of 7, on an occasion when she had given him a heart-shaped ginger cake to eat, and had called him her “Valentine.” Since she lived on a distant plantation—slave masters typically separated mothers and children as soon as possible, in order to maintain their dominance—it must have been a long walk for her to visit him, he surmised. Thus it must have been a special occasion; perhaps his birthday. Thus he decided to celebrate February 14.
Douglass is celebrated today for his work as a writer and speaker against the evils of slavery. True, his memoirs—published originally as Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, then expanded over the years into The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass—are among the greatest of American life stories. And his speeches and articles in defense of liberty and against slavery and racism are astonishing for their eloquence. But Douglass was more than an agitator against evil. He was also a philosopher, who wrote searching reflections on the nature of personal identity and psychology.
More here. (Note: Throughout February, at least one post will be devoted to Black History Month: A century of Black History Commemorations)
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