Frederick Douglass On Music: "The boundary of the human soul, the dividing line between the finite and the infinite..."

On first hearing a phonograph:

"The phonograph brought me nearest to a sense of divine creative power than anything I ever witnessed before. It raises the question as to the boundary of the human soul, the dividing line between the finite and the infinite."

Frederick Douglass, 1894

                                             Frederick Douglass with his grandson Jospeh Douglass

Abolitionist Frederick Douglass (1817 - 1895) loved music. In one of his autobiographies, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he wrote that music provided him with his “first glimmering conception of the dehumanizing character of slavery. I can never get rid of that conception. Those songs still follow me, to deepen my hatred of slavery, and quicken my sympathies for my brethren in bonds.”

Many of his political meetings and speeches ended in song; Douglass leading the crowd with his deep resonant voice. He was particularly fond of his grandson Jospeh Douglass, who played the violin. He promoted Joseph and supported his musical training to the fullest extent possible.

In the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 60s, we saw the importance of song.

Now it's time to rise up again, rise up singing...