Frederick Douglass: “I have often wished myself a beast, or a bird—anything, rather than a…”

On the recordJanuary 1, 1855

I have often wished myself a beast, or a bird—anything, rather than a slave.

Said by

Frederick Douglass

Source

Douglass conveys the depth of his despair and the dehumanizing nature of slavery by wishing to be any creature other than a slave.

More from Frederick Douglass

Jan 1, 1881

The father might be a white man, glorying in the purity of his Anglo-Saxon blood, and his child ranked with the blackest slaves.

Jan 1, 1881

The laws which determine the destinies of individuals and nations are impartial and eternal.

Jan 1, 1881

I wished it was possible I could remain small all my life, knowing that the sooner I grew large the shorter would be my time to remain with them.

Jan 1, 1881

Food to the indolent is poison, not sustenance.

Frederick Douglass: “I have often wished myself a beast, or a bird—anything, rather than a slave.”