Joyce Donohue: Frederick Douglass deserves to be heard in our schools

To The Daily Sun,

We have all heard of Frederick Douglass but most probably know only that he was a Black man who lived around the time of Abraham Lincoln. I've been asking around and my impression is most of us know very little about him and have not read anything by him. He was self-educated. Please read his "My Escape From Slavery" (24 pages) and "Narrative of the Life of An American Slave" (96 pages).

Why were we not assigned these short books in our schools? For less than $15, every student could have been given copies of these books. Mr. Douglass' voice is powerful. Why have obscene amounts been spent on "education" in this country and Mr. Douglass has been virtually ignored? There is much rich material by and about Frederick Douglass. I only ask that one or both of the referenced books be read. Then ask, had even these two short books been part of school curricula, might not great suffering, bloodshed, misery, ignorance and lucre been spared? Frederick Douglass is as great an American hero as any. His voice deserves to be heard, directly from him.

Joyce Donohue

Laconia