er mer a slave who could tell of his birthday. They seldom came nearer to it than planting-time, harvest-time, cherry-time, spring-time, or fall-timeö (187).
His mother, Harriet Bailey, was a slave whom he did not come to know well. His father was probably her white masterÆs plantation superintendent, Aaron Anthony, the man who became his master but also remained a stranger. He was raised primarily by his maternal grandmother who gave him his primary sense of family.
Waldo E. Martin Jr. observes that DouglassÆs biracial heritage had a profound impact on his view of race and discrimination. He writes, ôDouglassÆs expanding racial awareness demonstrated an increasingly sophisticated perception of self-identity, collective identity, and their mutual dependenceö (3). The belief that his father was white made white audiences somewhat more open to considering his arguments and to accepting his eloquence, but this racist perception continued to influence DouglassÆs own feelings about himself and drive to be heard.
When he was 21 years old, he escaped to the north and changed his last name first to Johnson and then to Douglass. Within three years, he was speaking out publicly against the institution of slavery, and he devoted his adult life to the abolitionist cause. The question of slavery was a topic of considerable debate in the nation at this time, and DouglassÆs skills as an orator quickly gained him an audience. His speaking career began when, as one of the few black members of the American Anti-Slavery Society in New Bedford, Massachusetts, he was
...