Frederick Douglass Advantages

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Take Advantage of Your Skill/ Every Song Has a Message As I entered the beginning of my first semester of my junior year at Savannah State University, I realized that enrolling in an African American Literature course should be at the top of my “To Do List.” As a young woman of African American descent and a student attending the oldest historically black university in Georgia, I did not see why I should not. There is so much information and knowledge about my culture I am curious about that I have not been exposed to. I believe that it is important to become aware of our ancestors, the many generations that came after, and their backgrounds. The more we understand about them, the more we tolerate them, leading to more celebrations of them.…show more content…
This is what drew me towards the famous writings of Fredrick Douglass. Fredrick Douglass was a prominent African American leader of the nineteenth century. I must say, Fredrick Douglass was a man of many things. He was not only an important African American leader; he was a former slave that became an abolitionist, a writer, a journalist, and an orator. Douglass became an icon of his age and a unique voice for humanism and social justice. After becoming a free man, Douglass dedicated his life to American justice. He focused closely on minority groups, women’s rights, and African Americans (The Reader's Companion to American History)…show more content…
That images that appear when I read the lyrics of the We Raise De Wheat, the words insert me in a cornfield with my fellow slaves, as we pluck the corn from the roots in the ground, we sang along to pass the time. Then I can imagine more of the slaves in the kitchen or maybe even the basement dressed in raggedy aprons, rolling dough, covered in flour, baking the bread, and placing them in the oven until golden brown and ready to be served for dinner. In his style of writing, I observed that Douglass’ used his oral African culture tradition in My Bondage and My Freedom. The song’s language comes from the African society and culture that they grew up using. Douglass begins the poem with direction and implication to criticize the dominant systems of white power and white authority that was placed upon the African slave planters of the fields: We raise de wheat, dey gib us de corn; We bake de bread, dey gib us de
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