[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 35 (Friday, February 24, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H2214-H2215]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Torkildsen] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. TORKILDSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a man who 
was, by definition, a great American. Born into slavery in 1817, 
Frederick Douglass would become an abolitionist, orator, journalist, 
and advisor to Presidents.
  Abraham Lincoln once told Frederick Douglass, ``There is no man whose 
opinion I value more than yours.''
  His first autobiography paints a cruelly accurate picture of the 
conditions and circumstances he endured as part of his childhood. 
Nevertheless, Douglass learned to read and write at an early age, when 
the plantation owner's wife defied the law and began teaching him. This 
was the beginning of what would become an impressive self-education.
  Eventually Douglass was put to work in a Baltimore shipyard. In 1838, 
Douglass escaped to New York and soon moved to New Bedford, MA, where 
he married.
  Douglass soon became active within the Massachusetts abolitionist 
movement. After an impromptu speech at a rally in Nantucket, Douglass 
was immediately propelled to the forefront of the abolitionist debate 
then raging throughout America.
  Many who heard Douglass speak began doubting his story. At the time, 
[[Page H2215]]  people refused to believe that a former slave could 
speak so eloquently, so passionately and with such command of the 
English language. This prompted Douglass to write his first book: 
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, which Douglass wrote while 
living in Lynn, MA.
  One hundred years ago this week, Frederick Douglass died. His legacy 
should serve as a source of strength and hope for all Americans 
regardless of our own ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Desire for 
freedom and social justice is not limited to any race, gender, or 
political party. And desire to bring about positive change in our 
society should never be stifled by those who stand in the way of 
progress.
  Later in life Douglass was asked by a young man, what could be done 
to change things. Douglass said. ``Agitate. Agitate. Agitate.''
  In our efforts to fight for meaningful change we should remember 
these and other words of Frederick Douglass, ``Fellow citizens, ours is 
no newborn zeal and devotion--merely a thing of this moment.''


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