What I’m Reading: … look, a word, a gesture, accidental or intentional, never failed to be taken as impudence …

This new series is an ongoing collection of quotes from the books I am currently reading. — Douglas


”The charge against her was very common and very indefinite, namely, “impudence.” This crime could be committed by a slave in a hundred different ways, and depended much upon the temper and caprice of the overseer as to whether it was committed at all. He could create the offense whenever it pleased him. A look, a word, a gesture, accidental or intentional, never failed to be taken as impudence when he was in the right mood for such an offense.”

From Life and Times of Frederick Douglass: (An African American Heritage Book)

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