Suppose You Yourselves Were Black: An Address Delivered in New York, New York, on May 10, 1848
SUPPOSE YOU YOURSELVES WERE BLACK: AN ADDRESS DELIVERED IN NEW YORK, NEW YORK, ON 10 MAY 1848
New York Sun, 12 May 1848. Another text in National Anti-Slavery Standard. 18 May 1848.
A special session of the anniversary meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society was held on the evening of 10 May 1848 at Convention Hall in New York City. Robert Purvis, a black abolitionist from Philadelphia and a vice president of the Society, presided over the meeting. The Hutchinson family singers entertained the audience with antislavery songs, and William Wells Brown, Charles Lenox Remond, Abby Kelley Foster, and Douglass delivered short addresses. The New York Herald reported that Douglass “indulged in a good deal of low, sarcastic representations of what he called the hypocritical
praying clergymen” and that his remarks were greeted with a “sound volley of hissing” from a portion of the audience. For the second time in two days, Douglass’s speech was interrupted by large numbers of people leaving the hall. New York Herald, 12 May 1848.
Frederick Douglass said that after an anxious and careful investigation into causes of the continuance of slavery in the land, he found that it was caused by too much religion. The people were too reverential God-ward to be honest man-ward. There were hundreds of churches in all directions, full of men and women paying homage to God and exhibiting great piety. If any one of these churches were asked for a place of meeting, the answer would be that they were for God’s use. The poor Southern slaves, with their backs streaming with blood and their hearts burning with a love of liberty, had no chance to arrest the sympathies of these sanctimonious parties.
After giving the names of several Methodist Episcopalian clergymen who were slaveholders—women whippers—he inquired, was not his asser-
tion correct? Why, he continued, it is a notorious fact that men were sold to build churches—women were sold to pay the expenses of missionaries—and children were sold to buy Bibles. The Episcopalians, the Presbyterians, the Universalists, the Unitarians, the Methodists, are all in connexion with and abettors of slavery. The American church is a brotherhood of thieves.1Douglass adapts the title of Stephen S. Foster’s The Brotherhood of Thieves. (Great confusion, excitement, hissing and cheering.) What is the man who seized the babe from the mother’s breast and sells it into slavery, but a thief and a robber,—and did not these churches which tolerated such an act partake of the crime? Were they not thieves and robbers?
(The speaker here had recourse to mimicry which he appeared to be complete master of. He had some popular pulpit orator in his mind’s eye; for nearly one half the audience laughed outrageously, while the other half started on their feet to go away.)
Whilst the ladies and gentlemen were moving towards the door in a very excited mood, the lecturer addressed them thus—Suppose you yourselves were black, and that your sisters and brothers were in slavery, subject to the brutality and the lash of the atrocious tyrant who knew no mercy—Suppose, I say, that you were free, and that your dearest and nearest relatives were in the condition that the Southern slaves are, and that the Church sanctioned such infamy, would you not feel as I do? There is no use in being offended with me, I have a right to address you. There is no difference, except of colour, between us. As I said four years ago,2The 1844 annual meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society, which Douglass attended, was held in New York City from 6 to 11 May. PaF, 23 May 1844. I say now, I am your brother—(cheers and laughter)—yes I am, and [although] you may pass me by as you will and cut me and despise me, I’ll tell every one I meet that I am your brother. (Cheers and laughter.)
He went for the infidelity of France, which kept not liberty from man, sooner than the religion of the American church—(hisses and confusion)—not that he did not repudiate infidelity and love true Christianity which came purely, willingly from the soul—which taught peace on earth and good will to men—which inculcated the glorious doctrine of doing to others as one would be done by,3Douglass paraphrases Luke 2 : 14 and Matt. 7 : 12.—that was the glorious religion for him, and not the whining, canting, psalm-singing, nasal, [and] hypocritical system of the present day in America.