Black History Month

I have decided to take advantage of February being Black
History Month, and teach my boys more about the African American experience. I have started with studying about Frederick Douglass, a man born into slavery who fought bravely for freedom through his words. I am reading from a Sterling biography, which is excellent, and I mention this because I would highly recommend adding some of their books to your collection.

So far I am only on page 41, with 119 pages in total, but I wanted to share a tender moment from his childhood that I was touched by.

It was customary in slave culture for the mothers to give their children to their mothers to raise in order for the women to continue working after giving birth. So Frederick was raised by his grandmother and lead quite a sheltered life until at the age of six, his grandma walked through the woods with him for twelve miles and brought him to a large plantation home. It was the master's home and near by were slaves quarters, cabins with other children, whom several of them Fredrick learned were his brothers and sisters. Frederick was shy and once he realized that his grandmother had slipped away back into the woods to leave him there, he cried all day and all night. Slave children were given a large shirt that went down to their knees with no pants and no shoes. There were no beds, only the hard woods floors to sleep on and a coarse blanket.

That is the background so you can understand the part of the story I really wanted to share.

It was at this stage in Frederick's life that he learned who his mother was, but she did not live in the same location as him. His mother was assigned to work on a farm which was another twelve miles away. She only was able to visit him five or six times over a couple years time. This was because she had to walk the twelve miles in the dark after she had finished her work, and then walk back in time to begin work the next day.

There was a mean slave woman in charge of the children and one day she spitefully decided not to give Frederick any food. This happened to occur on a day when his mother came to see him. His mother told the woman off and then used her kitchen to make him a ginger cake in the shape of a heart. Frederick then fell asleep in her arms and when he awoke, she was gone. That was the last time Frederick ever saw his mother because she passed away within the next year.

I think making that cake in the shape of a heart is the sweetest thing I have heard in a long time. I am so grateful to be able to raise my children.