Frederick Douglass

A famous portrait of Frederick Douglass (http://www.flickr.com/)

A hero is an inspiration to others. A hero is brave and overcomes their fears to do something important for the well being of others. But some would say that to be a hero you need to save somebody's life or do something extraordinary like solving an issue such as global warming. Frederick Douglass didn’t exactly do just that. He was a hero in another way. He was the person who wasn’t satisfied with overcoming a task that seemed impossible to begin with. For example, he escaped from being a slave, and most would thank god that you even got that far and then just sit back and enjoy the rest of your life. But Frederick Douglass didn’t do anything like that. He overcame his first task so he could move onto to help everyone else in the world. He went on and fought to end slavery. Again he went the extra mile once his goal to end slavery was reached, he continued with his fight for everyone to be equal by fighting for women’s rights. He became a well known speaker, an inspiration to others and a leader to fight for what he believed in. But most importantly he became a hero.

Frederick Douglas was born a slave. When he was young he realized that reading and writing were going to be his pathway to freedom and success. He strived to read and write on his own each day. Sometimes he would ask the poor white children that he knew if they could teach him to read and write if in exchange he gave them his own food. As soon as he could read and write he'd be able to first, escape and then share his stories and inspiration with the world. Once he did become free, the journey to becoming a hero all began by him joining different organizations in New Bedford, where he currently lived. One of them was a black church. He went to abolitionists' meetings and subscribed to William Lloyd Garrison's weekly journal, the liberator. He later became inspired by Garrison once he saw him speak at the Bristol Anti-Slavery Society's annual meeting.

The book written by Frederick Douglass (http://www.flickr.com/photos/91742518@N00/132348873/)

The act that made him a hero was his ability to speak and share his beliefs and stories with the world. He gave his first speech when he was only 23 years old. It took place at the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society's annual convention in Nantucket. Of course he was nervous when he gave his speech but that didn’t stop him because he was there for a reason. The reason was to change the world and the people for the better. He gave a heart warming speech about his life as a slave. Once it was over he was offered to speak for the Society for three years. He had other ways of communicating his stories and thoughts with the world as well. He published an autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written By Himself. Even though the information written in the book could endanger his freedom he still decided to let the world read what he had to say.

He continued with his speeches, touching the hearts and changing the minds of many people in the world. He went on a speaking tour in England, Ireland, and Scotland and after he returned he published the, North Star, a four page weekly. During the civil war he even helped Abraham Lincoln to get northern blacks to join the Union Army. But even after the war was over he continued to fight for equality. This time what he fought for wasn’t even benefiting him. He fought for Women's Rights.

A plaque of Frederick Douglass (http://www.flickr.com/)

Frederick Douglass has a legacy that will never be forgotten. He is known as a great speaker and writer, a civil rights leader, and a brave man willing to share his inspiration with the world. I know that it took a lot of courage for him to stand in front of hundreds of people and share an opinion that wasn’t accepted by many people of the world. And he didn't just do this once, but many times. He was brave to try and change the world. Of course he's known as someone who doesn't just sit back and watch, he is someone who goes out there and does something about a problem. He worked hard at what he believed in. And in the end, everything he did paid off to help the world.

If Frederick Douglass were still around to talk to today's youth I'm sure he would have many things to say. Most importantly he would say speaking and writing are your key to being successful at positive change for the world. If you want to share your ideas, you need to get your thoughts across somehow and the only way to do that would be the spoken and written language. He'd probably tell you to be a leader, to be someone important and someone to step up and make a change. He'd tell you not to just sit back and watch life go by, but to go and make a difference in a positive way for yourself and the people around you. Lastly, he would say that you need to believe you can do something or it’s never going to happen. If he didn't believe he could help the world in a positive way then he never would have. He never would have had a happy and successful life.