On the recordJanuary 1, 1855
Ignorance is a high virtue in a human chattel; and as the master studies to keep the slave ignorant, the slave is cunning enough to make the master think he succeeds.
Said by
Frederick Douglass
Source
gutenberg.orgFrederick Douglass: “Ignorance is a high virtue in a human chattel; and as the master studies to keep the slave ignorant, the slave is…”
Editor's note · Context
Douglass describes the perverse value placed on ignorance for enslaved people and the subtle ways enslaved individuals navigate this oppressive system.
Share
More from Frederick Douglass
Jan 1, 1881
To-day the negro, starting from nothing, pays taxes upon six millions in Georgia, and forty millions in Louisiana.
Jan 1, 1881
Still another ground of hope I find in the fact that colored men are strong in their gratitude to benefactors, and firm in their political convictions.
Jan 1, 1881
Nothing but the shot-gun or the bull-dozer’s whip can keep them from voting their convictions.
Jan 1, 1881
None now denies the ability of the colored race to acquire knowledge of anything which can be communicated to the human understanding by letters.