Andrew Johnson wasn’t even supposed to be President, but he slid into the oval office in 1865 after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. And with swiftness, he turned his back on the Black people he once promised to help by vetoing legislation that could expand Black rights!
Frederick Douglass wasn’t gonna let that slide, though.
Under Johnson, many Southern states began to adopt laws severely limiting the labor and activity of Black people called “Black Codes.”
So when Douglass sat down as head of a delegation of Black men who met with Johnson in 1866, he knew he was fighting an uphill, racist battle. But as always, he was prepared to fight.
Even after Johnson claimed giving our people voting rights would start a “race war,” Douglass kept pushing.
He began speaking around the country, calling for Johnson’s removal from office, and exposing the dangers threatening this so-called democracy.
Douglass believed that, without voting rights, our people were still essentially enslaved. So he kept speaking truth to power!
By 1868 Johnson was impeached, Confederates were removed from office, and some Civil Rights were restored.
Frederick Douglass knew what he was up against in the war against white supremacy – but fighting for Black people was worth it. Like Douglass, we must never take no for an answer and keep fighting despite how the opposition tries to undermine us!