Saturday, February 19, 2011

Walking through

"The history books say that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves.  It is true that he signed a document called the Emancipation Proclamation, which established the legal precedent for freedom.  But to give all the credit to Lincoln omits what the slaves and free blacks did for themselves- and the nation. 

Ultimately, no one can free anyone else.  You have to free yourself.  Somebody else can unlock the door and even push it ajar, but they can't walk through it for you.  You have to do that."

From Slave Ship to Freedom Road, Julius Lester

Posted by at

2 comments:

  1. MeganFebruary 21, 2011 at 5:40 PM

    So true. The tricky part, at least in my life, has been realizing that I'm in a room, and maybe there are others I could enter instead... Hmm... wouldn't it be worth checking to see if there's a door? What it's unlocked? How strange? The worst part is that I sometimes I realize I build the room myself!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amy ReisdorfFebruary 24, 2011 at 9:20 AM

    Yep, exactly. This is why this book spoke so powerfully to me.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)