In order to make progress from the oppression upon the black community, Douglass advocates for people to take a stand on the struggle for freedom. Douglass implies that the people will have to fight for freedom by voicing their opinions. Douglass incorporates examples from slaves in other places that have overcome their oppressors in hopes of making it more evident that, indeed, there is a way out of oppression. The idea is that it must be done so by action and not merely by letting others take it upon them . It will not be an easy task, but it has to start off by recognizing that there is a problem. Douglass begins his speech by stating that a man who is not willing to fight for himself is a man who does not deserve others to fight for him. Immediately, Douglass’ audience is drawn to the intense claim, which he follows up by giving examples such as “it is useless and cruel to put a man on his legs,if the next moment his head is to be brought against a curbstone”(vchfgftyr Douglass is well aware that if a person is not fully invested in a cause, they will not end up with …show more content…
Douglass, on the other hand, criticizes white abolitionist by saying that although they are abolitionist they do not like colored celebrations, nor do they to support colored newspapers yet the people are behind them in support. Douglass is now trying to once again wake up the colored community into the truth of matters, it is not up to the white people to represent the colored community, but the responsibility of the people themselves to step up and become their own representatives. By doing so , it is slight progress because now not only does a white man have a voice but so does a colored man. A colored person can become a leader for the rest, advocating the abolishment of slavery, that is what white men may fear but as Douglass says it will not affect them too much to have a colored man taking a leading