The name is immediately recognizable even to the youngest of our society…Frederick Douglass. The former slave, African American social reformer, writer, statesman, advocate for women’s rights, and noted orator has been the subject of many essays and discussions.
It’s Women’s History Month, and I felt that this was an excellent opportunity to talk about the women behind Douglass. Though it’s not often mentioned or acknowledged, Douglass’ legacy wouldn’t be his legacy without the women behind the man. Women have been the strength behind so many men that society has held up as shining examples of humanity.
Douglass wrote many books, including his autobiography, but he had little if anything to say about the women in his life and how they supported him. Married twice in his lifetime, little is known or written about Douglass’ wives.
Douglass’ first wife, Anna Murray Douglass was an American abolitionist and a member of the Underground Railroad. She was largely illiterate and left behind few traces of her life, whereas Frederick Douglass wrote thousands of letters and multiple books. But, without Anna, Frederick wouldn’t have escaped slavery or achieved such fame for his abolitionism.
Frederick and Anna met in 1838 when he still went by the surname Bailey. The daughter of enslaved parents in rural Maryland, Anna was the first of her siblings to be born free after her parents were manumitted. She lived with her parents until age 17, at which point she headed for Baltimore and found work as a domestic helper. Over the years, she managed to earn and save money. She was part of the vibrant community of 17,000 free Blacks in Maryland that managed to organize churches and schools despite restrictive laws limiting freedoms. Historians disagree on when and where she met Douglass, but she was financially prepared to start a life with him. First, he needed freedom.
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