Edinburgh University Press If I Survive: Frederick Douglass and Family in the Walter O. Evans Collection

Marking the 200th anniversary of Frederick Douglass' birth, this first collective history and comprehensive collection of the Douglass family writings and portraits sheds new light not only on Douglass as a freedom-fighter and family man but on the lives and works of Lewis Henry, Frederick Jr., and Charles Remond. As civil rights protesters, essayists, autobiographers, and orators in their own right, they each played a vital role in the 'struggles for the cause of liberty' of their father. As published here, each of their original writings and portraits is accompanied by an explanatory essay and in-depth scholarly annotations as well as a detailed bibliography. Recognising that the Frederick Douglass that is needed in a twenty-first century Black Lives Matter era is no infallible icon but a mortal individual, If I Survive situates the lives and works of Douglass and his family within the social, political, historical and cultural contexts in which they lived and worked. Each unafraid to die for the cause, they dedicated their lives to the 'emancipation of the slave' and to social justice by every means necessary. The Foreword is written by Robert S. Levine and the Afterword is authored by Kim F. Hall. Review "Public and university libraries will want this book for their African American and history collections." -- Merle Jacob, Booklist "This treasure trove of primary source documents reveals how the frequently told history of Frederick Douglass as an individual needs to be revised to account for the largely untold story of the work performed by his daughters and sons. It shows how the freedom forged by Douglass rested in no small measure on the collaborative work of his entire family, work that is now fully documented in print for the first time." -- George Lipsitz, author of How Racism Takes Place "This a remarkable breakthrough book on collecting. This unique and well-researched book transforms the family and public archive of Frederick Douglass into a living monument that breathes new life into the idea of public memory." -- Deborah Willis, New York University "If I Survive brings to Frederick Douglass scholarship an exploration of his intimate relationship with his family and its commitment to social justice. This book will challenge and expand Douglass Scholarship." -- Bill E. Lawson, Emeritus Professor, University of Memphis "If I Survive is a treasure for scholars of the nineteenth century, of Frederick Douglass, of the world of Black life in the Reconstruction era and the reversals that followed. Collecting little-seen family photos, beautiful love letters, the sole manuscript copy of Douglass' eulogy for William Lloyd Garrison, and hitherto inaccessible documents from the Walter O. Evans collection, Professors Celeste-Marie Bernier and Andrew Taylor offer their readers an unexpected gift, contextualizing and revealing the profound texture of America's most unsung First Family. A must for libraries, a find for academics, a trove for lovers of U.S. history and Black studies." -- Rafia Zafar, Washington University in St. Louis "In history, the study of slavery and the pre-Civil War era is a well trodden path. But this book will help break new ground with the amount of primary sources we get, all in one volume. This book alone should occupy scholars for decades." -- Kevin Winter, Tulsa Book Review From the Back Cover The Frederick Douglass Family Story Previously unseen speeches, letters, autobiographies, essays, and photographs of Frederick Douglass and his sons Lewis Henry, Frederick Jr. and Charles Remond are collected here. The family's history is told alongside full colour facsimile reproductions of over 80 previously unpublished manuscripts and artefacts held in the Walter O. Evans Collection. All of life can be found within these pages: romance, hope, despair, love, life, death, war, protest, politics, art and friendship. Working together and against a changing backdrop of US s