The real Frederick Douglass is my great uncle. He would not approve of people pulling down statues of Abraham Lincoln. They were friends–a friendship forged between a runaway slave and the most powerful man in the country, but sealed by their shared goal of emancipation and that every man should be viewed as equals under God. I know this is a sports thread, and I apologize for this, but hey, the guy is my uncle and I’m dam#ed proud of that. Douglass was the president’s guest at the second inauguration; at the reception following, Douglass was detained at the door because he was black. Here is what he wrote to describe the incident:
Douglass refused to leave. “I shall not go out of this building till I see President Lincoln,” he told them.
Just then a man who was passing recognized Douglass, who asked him to relay a message to Lincoln that he was being detained at the door. Not long after that, Douglass was escorted into the East Room.
“Amid a scene of elegance such as in this country I had never before witnessed,” Douglass wrote. “Like a mountain pine high above all others, Mr. Lincoln stood, in his grand simplicity, and homelike beauty. Recognizing me, even before I reached him, he exclaimed, so that all around could hear him, ‘Here comes my friend Douglass.’”
Lincoln took his hand and said, according to Douglass, “I am glad to see you. I saw you in the crowd today, listening to my inaugural address. How did you like it?” “I said, ‘Mr. Lincoln, I must not detain you with my poor opinion, when there are thousands waiting to shake hands with you.’ ”
“No, no,” he said, “you must stop a little, Douglass; there is no man in the country whose opinion I value more than yours. I want to know what you think of it?”
Douglass replied, “Mr. Lincoln, that was a sacred effort.”
A white President in 1865 exclaiming in front of a bunch of rich and powerful white people, intentionally loud enough for them to hear, “Here comes my friend Douglass,” then saying, again so they could hear, “there is no man in this country whose opinion I value more than yours.” Imagine the scene. The greatest black voice for the abolition of slavery revered Lincoln’s courage and character. No, I don’t think Douglass would approve of people tearing down those statutes or painting nasty epithets on them.
For a wonderful–but long–read, here is the eulogy Douglass gave to a mostly black crowd in Rochester following Lincoln’s assassination:
Again, sorry for going way off topic here, but we cannot ignore the impact that current events have on sports, and should not forget the great people of all races who have bravely fought for equality under God. Lincoln and Douglass are a great example of two very different people who found common ground and mutual respect without destroying or denigrating each other, and I encourage more of that type of dialog and mutual respect that is both earned and deserved.