A lifelong crusader against discrimination, the great orator and journalist Frederick Douglass (1817–1895) was born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey on this day on a farm near the Tuckahoe River in Talbot County, Maryland.

Born into slavery, Douglass reached for language early. Books opened a door to possibilities, and learning exposed the injustice of bondage. Douglass later said, “Once you learn to read you will be forever free.”

At age 20, Douglass fled to New York and chose a new name. Douglass took the surname from Walter Scott’s poem The Lady of the Lake (1810), a name that carried strength into public life.

Freedom did not quiet Douglass. Freedom sharpened purpose. Douglass found a voice strong enough to help others rise. The self-taught speaker became one of the most influential voices of the century, educating the public on the demand for full civil rights for all.

In 1845, Douglass published his autobiography, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, a testimony that forced readers to see slavery without disguise.

Douglass named the truth plainly: “Without a struggle, there can be no progress.” Struggle became a doorway toward change.

In 1847, Douglass founded the newspaper The North Star, named for the night beacon that guided enslaved people toward freedom. Words and actions moved history forward.

With clarity, Douglass also warned that power yields nothing without a demand. Courage and persistence shaped the climb.