Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass

Father of the Civil Rights Movement

by Latorial Faison

A long time ago
Maybe 1817
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey
Came into being

He was born a slave
On the Eastern Shore
In Tuckahoe, Maryland
He was a house boy

Frederick learned to read
He learned to write
He had big dreams
But he had no rights

Frederick escaped for freedom
To Massachusetts up north
Gave up his slave name
And settled in Rochester, New York

DOUGLASS was the new name
That Frederick claimed
But an abolitionist and leader
Is what he later became

In New York Douglass conducted
The Underground Railroad to free others
The North Star newspaper
He created and published

After the Civil War

Douglass moved on to D.C.

Where he served as U.S. Marshall

And Minister to Haiti 

Frederick Douglass helped to shape
What we now know as history
He sought justice for all
Speaking bold words eloquently

He rose to the occasion
Of defending equal rights
For minorities and women
He was determined to fight

Douglass, the Great Orator,
Is known for many things
Activism, social reform
Writing and publishing

Frederick Douglass believed
In freedom for every man
He envisioned all of America
As a diverse and equal land

He advised U.S. presidents
And received many accolades
But Frederick Douglass is most revered
For helping to free American slaves.


Copyrighted 2004 Latorial D. Faison
from 28 Days of Poetry Celebrating Black History by Latorial Faison

Poetry Workshops by Latorial Faison
www.latorialfaison.com | crosskeyspress@aol.com