An Open Letter to Frederick Douglass, Upon the Inauguration of President Obama

Dear Mr. Douglass,
I write to you as a white man from a future that is the answer to your prayers, a vindication of your dreams and a reward for your suffering. I come from a white man's Christianity which, as you write in your Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, is the; "justifier of the most appalling barbarity, and a dark shelter under which the darkest, grossest and most infernal deeds of slaveholders find the strongest protection."

As you also said; "were I to be again reduced to the chains of slavery, next to that enslavement, I should regard being the slave of a religious master the greatest calamity that could befall me. For of all the slaveholders with whom I have ever met, religious slaveholders are the worst."

It is from that background of a bigoted, fundamentalist white American version of "Christianity" that I come. Moreover, Sir, many years after your day, from the mid-1970s until the mid-1980s, my father was instrumental in the creation of a movement known as the "Religious Right." Supposedly we were fighting for God but, of course, as you may guess, this was mostly a pretense for maintaining a status quo, hence the power of white men.

We never said so and would have denied everything, but the so-called Christian America we defended was born in the South and was most vigorously defended by the children of the white slaveholders, the same people who's great grandfathers separated you from your mother, and beat you bloody so many times.

Therefore, I write to you as the spiritual descendant of those who you describe as having seen; "tie up a lame young woman, and whip her with a heavy cow skin upon her naked shoulders, causing the warm red blood to drip; and, in justification of the bloody deed, would quote this passage of Scripture -- 'He that knows his master's will, and does it not, shall be beaten with many stripes.'"

One of your prophecies, amongst many, has come true. You wrote, "a very different looking class of people are springing up in the South, and are now held in slavery, from those originally brought to this country from Africa; and if their increase does no other good, it will do away the force of the argument, that God cursed Ham, and therefore American slavery is right... for thousands are ushered into the world, annually, who, like myself, owe their existence to white fathers and [who's] fathers most frequently are their [son's] own masters."

This day, Sir, the son of a black African and a white mother will become president of United States! And, like you who were of mixed race, the fact he is part black means that he is defined as black.

Great battles have been won beyond those you could have hardly imagined, even besides the election of our first black president. These are battles of the heart and spirit of ordinary Americans. For instance, my son recently fought for this country as United States Marine. The person my white and privileged son admired most was his black drill instructor. My son fought side-by-side with the great, great grandsons of slaves and would have given his life for them, as they would have for him. And my son's story is not unusual. We have black generals commanding white troops. Black and white soldiers are brothers now.

You may have imagined, from what I have told you of myself, that I would have voted for our black president's white opponent -- who, by the way, in ways subtle and not so subtle covered himself in shame and tried to stir up racial hatred for the black candidate by calling him "not one of us" etc., -- and done all in my power to see that no black whatever ever be my President. But quite the reverse is true.

Like millions of white Americans, in both the North and South, I voted for our new black President, and, not only that, I voted for him with tremendous confidence and enthusiasm, as I would have voted for a savior come to rescue our nation. And, not only that, like you, I'm a writer, and so used my words as best I could to fight for the black candidate. And, I was far from alone, merely one of tens of thousands of white men and women doing the same.

On that day of casting my vote, and on this day when we are moments from our new president taking his oath of office, I want you, Sir, to know that your words proved true when you wrote; "From my earliest recollection... [I had] a deep conviction that slavery would not always be able to hold me within its foul embrace; and in the darkest hours of my career in slavery, this living word of faith and spirit of hope departed not from me, but remained like ministering angels to cheer me through the gloom. This could spirit was from God, and him I offer thanksgiving and praise."

Dearest Sir, not everything has changed. There are still those driven by hate but it now they who are the minority. The "deep conviction" that you would not be held in slavery forever was a prophecy now vindicated as the first black American President will walk through the White House doors, doors on a building partly built by slaves, doors that excluded back men and women for the most part of American history, doors through which several of our presidents passed who were slaveholders themselves. Through these doors your spiritual son and my new President will walk carrying the hopes and dreams of every American.

Best of all we who voted for our new president did so because he was not only the best candidate, but like you, a great man with a great mind. We voted for him because he was clearly the best person for the job. And -- thank God! -- everything that President-elect Obama has done since his acceptance speech has confirmed his wisdom, humble demeanor, ability to explain and that ineffable spiritual quality of leadership that, simply put, makes those being led feel better. We already love this man and his family.

Dearest Frederick Douglass, in conclusion: thank you for your bravery and the witness you bore against our bitterest sin. Thank you for fighting to learn to read and write, even when a white nation conspired to deprive you of your birthright of knowledge, so that you could liberate our minds.

Sir, things may change! They have changed! The "stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone." Your great labors to make America a better, fairer, truer place were not in vain.

I humbly thank you. Rest in peace Frederick Douglass.

Frank Schaeffer is the author of CRAZY FOR GOD-How I Grew Up As One Of The Elect, Helped Found The Religious Right, And Lived To Take All (Or Almost All) Of It Back. Now in paperback.

Comments

[themagarian]

Dear Mr. Schaeffer,

Flattery will get you nowhere.

Frederick Douglass

[PATina]

Thank you Mr. Schaeffer for writing such an inspiring letter... and you Mr. Douglass for an inspiring legacy.

[Freesia2]

Before I even read this, I just wanted to thank you Mr. Schaeffer for bringing up Frederick Douglass. I though of him the other day and how much he'd be loving this and what Jan. 20 would mean to him. Anyway....I want to read now..... :-)

[Freesia2]

And now I've read it and it was as good as I expected. You've used that keyboard of yours all through this past year to give credit where it was due and some help when it was needed and on more than one occasion some clarity to the chaos that is an election. You helped him I think, Mr. Schaeffer. I know you helped this reader.

And now you've helped Douglass in memoriam to share a little of the limelight. He so deserved it. (I wish someone would make a movie of his life. Maybe now would be the perfect time).

Thanks for a great article. Gave me a little tear there at one point. But now I'm grinning. This is a happy time to be an American.

[booksnmore4you]

Digg it: http://digg.com/political_opinion/A_Letter_to_Frederick_Douglass_as_Pres_Obama_is_Inaugurated

[YR]

One caveat. Slaveholders were never much concerned about sexually abusing enslaved women. That was part of their white male privilege and their behavior was deemed the fault of supposedly lascivious black women. And most blacks are mixed race in this country because of this history. Now what slaveholders feared and what sent them on the road to lynching was that white women, like Obama's mother, would voluntarily sleep with black men. White women were charged with upholding the "purity" of the white race. This was the excuse for lynching in the popular imagination, even though records show that lynching was carried out for a variety of reasons. Mainly lynching was a weapon of terrorism to keep black men in a subordinate economic and political position. We've come a long way on these fronts. But it is important to know the race and gender aspects of the struggle.

[SeanGardner]

Wow Frank! Its almost like you had a front row seat to the history of my ante-bellum foremothers and fathers. Truly remarkable post. It has to be the best you've penned, and quite literally one of the best I've seen on HUFFPOST since the site's inception. There has never been a post on here that has brought me to tears, but this one succeeded.

As a student of history, I also have a great deal of respect for the legacy of Frderick Douglass. His passion, his purpose, and his worldview. He was a richly transcendent figure, much like Obama himself. In fact, in Douglass' old age, he climbed to the top of the Great Pyramid. You captured in your piece just how special a person he was. And why he still matters.

I'm sure your post would also be well-received by some of Douglass' nineteenth century contemporaries like David Blyden, Alexander Crummel, Henry Highland Garnett, and Richard Allen. And even slave insurrectionists like David Walker and Denmark Vessey would also shed a tear after reading your inspiring post.

You rock Frank. You've made my day!

[Charmed]

Great Article....but it sure has me choked up while I'm at work....(this is why I'm NOT working on next tuesday)(I may shed a tear at anytime).

[JimReed]

Open Letter to Frank Schaeffer's Future Grandchildren,

You have a well known great grandfather, a leader who helped take us in new directions. Who is your grandfather? This world is full of men speaking truth. Your grandfather seems to be more one seeking truth. The world notices speakers before seekers. Being from the future, you know many of the answers that we can only guess at. It seems to be unpredictable where Frank will go next. Perhaps even he doesn't know. But in this time, it is appreciated by some of those not on the wide paths.

[Osmona]

OMG, you have truly caught the essence of "Our Story", and had the courage to write it. Perhaps there is hope afterall. Yes, I am African American and I was born in 1954. So, I experienced alot of what you are talking about. I NEVER would have believed in my lifetime that I would see an African American president in the USA. I am very proud. But I also know that Barack Hussein Obama will be the president for ALL the people of the USA. Without ALL of us he would never have been elected. I just hope that your insights rub off onto EVERYONE. Even African Americans.

Thank you so much.

[ohioan73]

Very nice. :)

As a black American born in the 70s, I missed out on a lot of the racial strife of the 20th century. I lived my earliest developing years on a "liberal" street in a mostly Jewish neighborhood. On my street, white and black (and bi-racial) kids played together and all the parents were friendly. There was even a male gay couple next door. Never was color or race a topic amongst us. When we got to school, the Jewish kids who lived all concentrated together in another part of the neighborhood, were shockingly racist. When I lived in all-black neighborhoods, I heard shocking reactive racist stories about white people. When I went to college at infamous KSU, I heard shocking racism from rural white people who did not know Jews or blacks and did not live with them. It was shocking to me because I wasn't taught how to hate "others". They were my first crushes, BFFs and Pac Man opponents. How could I hate anyone?

I have a lot to thank Fredrick Douglas and MLK Jr. and scores of other blacks, whites, Indians etc, for because their tireless work created at the very least a nice street for me to learn how to be human. Although the rest of the city and state of Ohio is hopelessly segregated and people are unbelievably ignorant here, I got a chance to see an alternative if only for a few years.

[Terypat]

What a beautiful piece of writing. Thank you so much. Tears were streaming down my face too!

[JenniferInMO]

Thank you. It brought a tears to my eyes. It will be a beautiful day when President-Elect Barack Hussein Obama can finally drop that "Elect" from his title.

As an aside, I will be imagining Sasha and Malia jumping on their beds with joyous giggles and carefully placing their favorite Jonas Brother posters in their new rooms. Maybe their happiness will clear out some of the wretchedness left by the previous administration.

[butofcourse]

Wow. Well done. I'm misty-eyed.

[ImWithThatOne]

Beautiful! Clearly among your best!

[BruceHNV]

Bravo.