Inhuman as was this treatment, it was the natural result of the bitter resentment felt by the old master class, and in view of it, the wonder is, not that the colored people of the South have done so little in the way of acquiring a comfortable living, but that they live at all.
From his autobiography, concluding his argument about the post-emancipation struggles by marveling at the sheer survival of Black Americans despite immense hostility.
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More from Frederick Douglass
The battle against popular prejudice will have been fought and won, and in common with all other races and colors, we shall have an equal chance in the race of life.
They cannot be coaxed or driven to vote with their enemies against their friends.
None now denies the ability of the colored race to acquire knowledge of anything which can be communicated to the human understanding by letters.