Theresa Mossholder
Ainesworth Clark
AAST/HIST 263
February 11, 2017
America: Home of the Oppressed
Martin R. Delany and Frederick Douglass are both abolitionists born in the early 1800s. They were colored men raised during a time when the Negro had to fight for his freedom. While Delany was born a free man in Charlestown West Virginia (Virginia at the time), Douglass was born a slave, however he escaped to Massachusetts in 1838. Delany moved to Pittsburgh at the age of 19 where he attended high school and college and apprenticed under a physician, and in 1843 began writing on public issues, and orating. His writing was quite popular and drew the attention of other abolitionists and allies. In 1847, Frederick Douglass met with Delany and they …show more content…
They both agree upon the problem but they have different solutions. Douglass however, disagreed with Delany. Douglass believed that emigration was not the answer for freed or born free Negroes. He felt that a Negro born in America was an American, and they deserved to live in the land that they built. That it was his moral duty to help advance America to be a land where being a Negro wasn’t a handicap. On October 21, 1890, Douglass delivered a speech before the Bethel Literary and Historical Association in Washington D.C. He describes calling the issue “the Negro Problem” as a red herring. That it is ridiculous to think there could be black supremacy in America. That to call it “the Negro Problem” is a misnomer. It should be called the Confederate problem. He …show more content…
While there are exponentially more opportunities to folks of color in terms of social rights, education, livelihood, there is still an unshakable cloud of racism that remains a blight on our society. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, Black Americans make up 40% of incarcerated people compared to whites at 39% despite whites making up 64% of the population compared to blacks at 16%! Not only did white America enslave blacks for years, we as a society are continuing to do so. I don’t think emigration was or is the answer. The multicultural aspect of our country is what makes it a desirable country to be a citizen
Ainesworth Clark
AAST/HIST 263
February 11, 2017
America: Home of the Oppressed
Martin R. Delany and Frederick Douglass are both abolitionists born in the early 1800s. They were colored men raised during a time when the Negro had to fight for his freedom. While Delany was born a free man in Charlestown West Virginia (Virginia at the time), Douglass was born a slave, however he escaped to Massachusetts in 1838. Delany moved to Pittsburgh at the age of 19 where he attended high school and college and apprenticed under a physician, and in 1843 began writing on public issues, and orating. His writing was quite popular and drew the attention of other abolitionists and allies. In 1847, Frederick Douglass met with Delany and they …show more content…
They both agree upon the problem but they have different solutions. Douglass however, disagreed with Delany. Douglass believed that emigration was not the answer for freed or born free Negroes. He felt that a Negro born in America was an American, and they deserved to live in the land that they built. That it was his moral duty to help advance America to be a land where being a Negro wasn’t a handicap. On October 21, 1890, Douglass delivered a speech before the Bethel Literary and Historical Association in Washington D.C. He describes calling the issue “the Negro Problem” as a red herring. That it is ridiculous to think there could be black supremacy in America. That to call it “the Negro Problem” is a misnomer. It should be called the Confederate problem. He …show more content…
While there are exponentially more opportunities to folks of color in terms of social rights, education, livelihood, there is still an unshakable cloud of racism that remains a blight on our society. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, Black Americans make up 40% of incarcerated people compared to whites at 39% despite whites making up 64% of the population compared to blacks at 16%! Not only did white America enslave blacks for years, we as a society are continuing to do so. I don’t think emigration was or is the answer. The multicultural aspect of our country is what makes it a desirable country to be a citizen