Frederick Douglass

The statue in Rochester, N.Y., where Douglass lived for decades, was installed two years ago as part of a commemoration of the abolitionist's 200th birthday.

In 1856, Frederick Douglass had a choice to make: support the big change he believed in — abolition of slavery — or settle for a less sweeping shift from a candidate better positioned to win.

David W. Blight's opus manages to be both a celebration of a remarkable life and a sober reminder of the many ways in which our terrible times are shaped by those Douglass lived through.

Two readings, 165 years apart, addressed to a nation at a precarious political moment. Why Frederick Douglass' famous 1852 anti-slavery speech is still read — and still resonates — in 2017.

Hunger was Douglass' constant companion as a boy. As a young man, he escaped slavery and became a heroic abolitionist who revealed how food was a key tool in the immoral mechanics of slavery.

The new film I Am Not Your Negro paints a picture of the prophetic writer's racial outlook that challenges the feeling of hope I once found in his words.