WASHINGTON — Unsure of his exact birth date in 1818, Frederick Douglass chose to celebrate on Feb. 14. So on Tuesday, the eve of his 200th birthday, a gathering at Hillsdale’s Allan P. Kirby Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship honored him in style — with a public lecture, a reception, and a brand-new painting.
One of the Kirby Center’s monthly AWC Family Foundation lectures, the event was co-hosted by Hillsdale College and the Douglass Leadership Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based organization. Lucas Morel, head of the politics department at Washington and Lee University, gave the keynote address, nine months after speaking on Hillsdale’s campus at the unveiling of the Douglass statue by Lane Hall.
Standing next to a photograph and a miniature statue of Douglass (and joking that it couldn’t compare to the one on campus), Morel lectured about 150 people on Douglass’ appreciation for American principles.
“The more one learns about Frederick Douglass, the more one marvels at his extraordinary achievements,” Morel said. “On the eve of the 200th anniversary of his birth, we commemorate the man whose life exemplifies all that the Kirby Center and Hillsdale College seek to promote.”
After escaping slavery, Douglass hated America at first but eventually came to claim it as his country because he understood the principles of the country’s founders, Morel said.
“Douglass did not think the flaws of white America should override the opportunities that could be had if only American citizens, black and white, took serious the principles of their — yes, slave-owning — forefathers,” Morel said. “Douglass believed the bedrock principles of equality and individual rights run counter to highlighting race as a political practice.”
Mistreated even as a free man, Douglass chose to maintain his dignity, Morel said. Forced to ride in a baggage car one time, Douglass received an apology from white friends. But Douglass responded: “They cannot degrade Frederick Douglass. The soul that is within me, no one can degrade.”
“Somehow, I don’t think he would be a fan of the ‘safe spaces,’” Morel quipped. “Or be too distressed by the ‘micro-agressions.’ This is a man who knew macro-agressions.”
The statesman, writer, and orator was no stranger to college campuses; the most photographed man of the 19th century, Douglass sat for one his most iconic photos at Hillsdale College, Morel recounted. Invited to speak by the Ladies Literary Society, Douglass delivered a speech called “Popular Error and Unpopular Truth.”
Throughout all his speeches and writing, Douglass primarily sought justice and equality for all humans before the law, values he found inherent in the principles of the American founding, Morel said.
“The question is, if not the principle of human equality, then what principle — American, African, or otherwise — would be more effective in promoting progress and securing equality under the law?” Morel said.
That’s the principle that Walter Hoye, founder of the Frederick Douglass Foundation of California and an audience member on Tuesday, found most compelling about Douglass and other historical figures such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Booker T. Washington.
“They embraced the modern-day language of personhood,” Hoye said. “We’re all humans, made in the image of God.”
After the speech, guests were invited to a nearby room for a sneak preview of a Frederick Douglass portrait, commissioned by donors of the Douglass Leadership Institute and painted by Tom Matousek. The institute hadn’t decided where to display the newly-unveiled painting but would use it as a logo for their Douglass bicentennial celebrations, said Rev. Dean Nelson, the institute’s board chair.
Nelson said that for the institute, a 3-year-old, grassroots organization focused on faith-based education and community work, it was a wonderful opportunity to hear from Morel. Members of the Douglass Leadership Institute attended the Douglass statue unveiling on campus last May as well.
“We love being able to hear from scholars,” Nelson said, noting that they’re all about applying ideas to practice.
In his speech, Morel emphasized the value of learning the ideas of Douglass.
“We are in desperate need of fresh thinking about race in America,” Morel said. “I can think of no better place to start than with the speeches and writings of Frederick Douglass. May he serve as a guide for our own time.”
