A masterpiece of American literature, Frederick Douglass' "Narrative" is a powerful story of an enslaved youth coming to social and moral consciousness by disobeying his owners and secretly teaching himself to read. Achieving literacy emboldens him to commit further acts of disobedience th...

A masterpiece of American literature, Frederick Douglass' "Narrative" is a powerful story of an enslaved youth coming to social and moral consciousness by disobeying his owners and secretly teaching himself to read. Achieving literacy emboldens him to commit further acts of disobedience that ultimately lead him to escape to freedom. Angela Y. Davis explores key passages from Douglass, touching on the philosophical and political importance of self-knowledge, resistance in the pursuit of liberation, and the importance of Douglass to the Obama Generation.