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If there is no struggle, there is no progress.

Frederick Douglass, West India Emancipation speech, 1857

Philosophy

The story behind the card

Frederick Douglass said this in August 1857 at Canandaigua, New York, at a celebration of the end of slavery in Britain's Caribbean colonies; in the American South, slavery was still legal. He goes on: those who want freedom without protest want crops without ploughing and rain without thunder, and power concedes nothing without a demand. The struggle, he said, may be moral or physical, but it must be a struggle. Douglass (c. 1818–1895) was born into slavery in Maryland, escaped in 1838 and became a leading voice against slavery.

Türkçe oku
Mücadele yoksa ilerleme de yoktur.
Frederick Douglass, Batı Hint Adaları'nda köleliğin kaldırılışı üzerine konuşma, 1857

Frederick Douglass bu sözü Ağustos 1857'de New York eyaletindeki Canandaigua'da söyledi. Toplantı, Britanya'nın Karayipler'deki sömürgelerinde köleliğin kaldırılışını kutlamak için düzenlenmişti; ABD'nin güneyinde ise kölelik hâlâ yasaldı. Douglass sözünü şöyle sürdürür: Özgürlük isteyip de protestodan kaçınanlar, toprağı sürmeden ürün, gök gürlemeden yağmur isteyenlere benzer; iktidar, talep edilmedikçe hiçbir şeyden vazgeçmez. Ona göre mücadele ahlaki de olabilir, fiziksel de; ama mutlaka bir mücadele olmalıdır. Douglass (yaklaşık 1818-1895) Maryland'de köle olarak doğdu, 1838'de kaçtı ve köleliğe karşı mücadelenin önde gelen seslerinden biri oldu.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Frederick Douglass
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