Facing Frederick

From award-winning author Tonya Bolden comes the fascinating story of one of America’s most influential African American voices in Facing Frederick: The Life of Frederick Douglass, a Monumental American Man.

Teacher. Self-emancipator. Orator. Author. Man. Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) is one of the most important African American figures in US history, best known, perhaps, for his own emancipation. But there is much more to Douglass’s story than his time spent in slavery and his famous autobiography.

Delving into his family life and travel abroad, this book captures the whole, complicated, and at times perplexing, person that he was. As a statesman, suffragist, writer, newspaperman, and lover of the arts, Douglass the man, rather than the historical icon, is the focus in Facing Frederick.

Includes color and archival images