Frederick Douglass became the most photographed American in the 19th Century — on purpose. Douglass loved photography—writing extensively on the medium. He considered it the most democratic of arts.
To him, the photograph was a crucial aid in the quest to end slavery and achieve civil rights. Douglass praised Louis Daguerre’s invention, known to us as the daguerreotype, for its power to dignify the poorest of the poor.
He wrote, “the humblest servant girl may now possess a picture of herself such as the wealth of kings could not purchase 50 years ago.”Douglass sought to define himself and his race as free and capable through his portraits. He always dressed up for the photographer, appearing “majestic in his wrath,” as one admirer said of a portrait from 1852.
At the same time, Douglass labored to speak and write with great eloquence. Through his images and words, he sought to “out-citizen” white citizens, at a time when most whites did not believe that blacks could be worthy citizens. Among the 160 distinct Douglass poses, two continuities stand out.
First, he almost never smiled, attempting to refute the racist caricatures of blacks as happy slaves and servants.
Second, he presented himself, in dress, pose, and expression, as a dignified and respectable citizen. A recent biography on Douglass (Frederick Douglass: America’s Prophet by D.H. Dilbeck) draws attention to how Douglass was enraptured by well-spoken and well-written words.
Douglass said: Great is the miracle of human speech—by it nations are enlightened and reformed; by it the cause of justice and liberty is defended; by it evils are exposed, ignorance dispelled, the path to duty made plain, and by it those who live today, are put into the possession of wisdom of ages gone by.
Sources: How Frederick Douglass Harnessed the Power of Portraiture to Reframe Blackness in America
Why Abolitionist Frederick Douglass Loved the Photograph
——– quick reminder——-
At the conference, we discussed the need to develop our leadership in these 5 (now 6) “C’s”:
Character
Competency
Courage
Charisma
Chemistry
(and I’ve added another one recently)
Creativity