Frederick Douglass: “We are sometimes told of the contentment of the slaves, and are…”

On the record

We are sometimes told of the contentment of the slaves, and are entertained with vivid pictures of their happiness.

Said by

Frederick Douglass

Source

He critiques the notion that slaves are content, challenging the romanticized views of their happiness.

More from Frederick Douglass

Jan 1, 1881

We are no longer four millions of slaves, but six millions of freemen.

Jan 1, 1881

Everywhere in the south the colored man is learning to read.

Jan 1, 1881

Nothing but the shot-gun or the bull-dozer’s whip can keep them from voting their convictions.

Jan 1, 1881

Another ground of hope for our race is in the progress of education.

Frederick Douglass: “We are sometimes told of the contentment of the slaves, and are entertained with vivid pictures of their happiness.”