Frederick Douglass was an African-American abolitionist and social reformer who was born into slavery in 1818. What Jewish connection did he have in his life?
Frederick Douglass by moosevlt is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. Douglass was born on a plantation on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. The plantation, which was owned by a Sephardic Jew named Moses Lindo, primarily grew tobacco.
B. After Douglass escaped slavery, he moved to New York City where he became active in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, whose membership included Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman. Douglass eventually became a licensed preacher, leading to the development of his oratorical skills. As he became known for his leadership in the abolitionist movement, he spoke primarily at African-American churches; however, in 1851, Douglass was invited to speak at Congregation Ansche Chesed on the Lower East Side of New York, the first time he had addressed a white audience on the subject of ending slavery.
C. In 1838, Douglass escaped slavery by boarding a train which took him to Havre de Grace in northeast Maryland. From there he made his way into Pennsylvania, where he made contact with abolitionists who were part of the Underground Railroad network. As he awaited assistance to travel to New York City, Douglass was temporarily housed by a Jewish couple, Anshel Bondi and his wife Henrietta, who were among the many white Jews and Christians who supported the movement of escaped slaves to safety in the North.
D. Despite being married and the father of five children, Douglass carried on a 22-year affair with Ottilie Assing, a journalist from Germany whose mother was Lutheran but whose father was Jewish.
E. Following up on his recent statement that “Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is getting recognized more and more, I notice,” President Trump recently announced that he will be inviting Douglass to come to the Passover seder at the home of his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner. Said Trump, “I was just talking to this Black reporter the other day, and I said to her, ‘I tell you what, do you want to set up the meeting? Do you want to set up the meeting? Is Frederick Douglass a friend of yours? Set up a meeting. Invite him to my seder.’ Because Passover is a holiday about freedom, and we can all understand that freedom is big league good. My administration will have the most free Jews and Black people of any administration in the history of our country. We can do that because we got 306 Electoral College votes. That’s more than any Black or Jewish president got. Really. Just ask Bibi. I told him about that just last week. My Jewish daughter and son-in-law were sitting right there in the front row.”