Frederick Douglass: “In view of this fact, I am happy to attribute any love of letters I…”

On the recordJanuary 1, 1881

In view of this fact, I am happy to attribute any love of letters I may have, not to my presumed Anglo-Saxon paternity, but to the native genius of my sable, unprotected, and uncultivated mother--a woman who belonged to a race whose mental endowments are still disparaged and despised.

Said by

Frederick Douglass

Source

gutenberg.org

Editor's note · Context

Challenging racist assumptions about intelligence, Douglass proudly attributes his intellectual inclinations to his Black mother's inherent genius rather than his white paternity.

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Frederick Douglass: “In view of this fact, I am happy to attribute any love of letters I may have, not to my presumed Anglo-Saxon paternity…”

Editor's note · Context