Entry #1 Date: Unknown

1. Entry #1 Date: Unknown If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way. Hello, I am Frederick Douglass, and if you are reading this, I would like you to gain knowledge about the severity of my time as well as my personal experiences, and empower you to do perform a good deed in your society today. I am a slave. I learned to write but a week ago, and I stole this journal from my Mistress, Sophia Auld, at the dark of night. I do not know the date at this time, but then again, I did not know any dates at any time. To this day I do not know my age, and none of my fellow slaves knew their age either. I wanted to start off my entries when I arrived in Baltimore to live with the Auld family, Thomas, Sophia, and their little boy, as caretaker of the child. Looking back at Colonel Lloyd’s plantation, the thought of Captain Anthony struck fear in me. The thought of the whips and days out on the fields were sickening, and we never got the best of our work; meaning, he always found a flaw. I entered my new house praying for a better future, and my thoughts were satisfied when I  

2. saw the Auld family for the first time. The smile that Sophia was wearing went from ear to ear, and it foreshadowed lots of enthusiasm and kindness in the future. Even Mr. Auld looked excited, and their little boy was so small that he did not have many emotions yet. For once in my life, I was excited for tomorrow. Entry #2 Date: Unknown I woke up the next morning on the mind-set of success, thinking that I have reached a goal as a slave. My ultimate goal, of course was to escape, but I was certain that the Auld family would want a slave of higher quality to take care of their child. At the time of my first break that day, Mrs. Auld was kind enough to teach me the alphabet, and eventually how to read. It was fascinating of how many symbols there were in the alphabet; all twenty-six, and how each letter has a different sound. I was very surprised at the sounds that two letters can make together, such as “th.” Just when I thought that my

3. lessons would succeed, a dramatic twister rolled though the meeting; Mr. Auld ruined the lesson, but he uncovered something incredible to me. I remember his exact words; he stated, “Learning will spoil the best slave in the world. Now, if you teach that slave how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master.” These few sentences changed everything for me. It revealed that the key to escaping slavery was, indeed, learning how to read. If a slave gains knowledge, he is smart enough to escape. However, the real twist happened with Mrs. Auld. Her caring face turned to that of a devil, and her kind words became as hurtful as the words of Captain Anthony. In fact, her personality became even worse than her husband. I thought that my prayers were kind to me, but in reality, they were ignored. Entry #3 Date: Unknown Today, the thought of escaping the depths of slavery was a very tempting idea, but I had countless mountains to climb before I could run away. The first, and

4. possibly the most challenging, was learning how to read. I mentioned that my mistress had given me a lesson, but that was hardly enough information to help me learn to read. I barely remembered the sounds that vowels made! However, I was able to find a copy of the novel The Colombian Orator, and whenever I could, I read the book. It was about a slave fighting with his master, so I could relate to that very easily. It helped to know how to talk, and knowing all of the words and what they mean, but on paper, I could not tell the difference between vowels and consonants. I spent almost five minutes trying to get through one word, and eventually, the thought of learning how to read was sickening. If there is no struggle, there is no progress. This thought was much more comforting. I know that one day, hopefully in the near future, I would learn how to read. Entry #4 Date: Unknown Today was about a year after the incident with Demby, a poor slave who was

5. killed by his owner, Mr. Gore. I was never a slave of Mr. Gore, but I have witnessed his cruelty, for his name complimented his personality. Demby was a very supporting slave to others, and I met with him every Sunday night with a few other slaves. He and I became very good friends, and still, to this day, I always think of him. One day, Mr. Gore was not quite satisfied with Demby’s work in the fields, so he ordered Demby to take of his shirt and kneel. Demby did so, and by watching the first lash of Mr. Gore, I knew that this would be a disaster scene. Each whip seemed to be harder than the last, and finally, Demby could take no more. He stood up, sprinted to the creek, and plunged into the water. Mr. Gore followed, and gave Demby the count to three to come back for more lashes. If he stood still, Mr. Gore would shoot him. Demby stood still, and I remember seeing the braveness in his eyes, and it expressed the feeling of doing something right. When three was called, Mr. Gore proceeded with his plan, and I remember Demby today as a hero. In memory of Demby, I encourage you to do something good for someone or your community. Demby stood up for not just himself, but he was carrying the full weight of all the slaves in the

6. south. The outcome was not the best, but the legacy that he left was better than it would have been if he lived. Entry #1 Date: 4/12/63 Hello, my name is Martin Luther King Junior, and I have just been arrested with my colleague Ralph Abernathy. I am charged for demonstrating without a permit. On my last protest, I discovered this journal, and I was completely moved by Frederick’s words. I am not sure what happened to this journal over the years, but my guess is that Mrs. Auld found out about this project and disposed of it. Reading through Demby’s memorial day, I cannot express how proud I feel for him. Some people might think that standing up will only help the person he or she stands up for, but an action as simple as saying “no,” like he did, can affect much more people than he could imagine. I have to bear the cruelty of segregation on a daily basis, and I have not been involved with any slavery. However, Demby shined a bright path for Ralph and I. It was today that I realized that my goal is to make others feel how I felt today. If this is being read, I challenge you to take action and perform a good

7. deed, just like Demby did, because the feelings afterward are priceless. On the other hand, I am sitting here now in prison, with so much guilt. My plan was to stand up to segregation, and so far, I have lead myself in the wrong direction. On the other hand, I am experiencing Frederick Douglass’s words, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” We know today that Frederick eventually learned to read, and, with struggle, of course, he escaped to New York. I hope, with all my heart, that this is the end of my struggling. If not, I can still look forward to my progress, because I know it will come. Entry #2 Date: 4/13/63 Word got around today that Malcolm X was suspended from a Nation of Islam leader. This is very disappointing, considering he was someone that I looked to as a role model for standing up for the black community. Despite, that, he went down for the good of someone else, in this case, John F. Kennedy. He criticized the assassination, but he stated that it was wrong. He said that, whoever, killed him, should have let him be, since he was doing the right thing of trying to stop segregation. This story reminded me of

8. Demby, the slave who stood up for himself, and his community. Both of them went down, but put their community up. I take these citizens as role models, and their simple actions made their community feel more important then they thought of themselves. Just like Frederick Douglass, I encourage you to do something right in your society today. The aftermath of the action will help many others with their feelings, their stress, and their life. Someday, Malcolm X will take an inspiring step of progress. Entry #3 Date: 4/23/63 The stories of Demby and Malcolm X inspired me to perform a good deed of my own, and I have been proceeding with my plan. The past eleven days, I have been drafting a letter to the council protesting segregation in the south. These days have been an enormous struggle; I have had to bear the aspects of prison-the sickening cafeteria food, the ugly smell of the cells, and, rising above all, the painfulness of utter boredom. I have Ralph to talk to, but he is almost worse than me, meaning that he literally has nothing to do. At least I have been writing the letter! Like I mentioned last week, my goal was to make others feel how I did

9. while reading through Demby’s story, and this letter, I hope, will contribute to my aims. Just like Frederick said, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” My struggles have been in a large quantity, considering my unfair charge to prison and the boredom. I envision a bright future for blacks and whites, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, who will be able to join hands in freedom together. Entry #1 Date: 2/18/14 Greetings, I am John Ashe, President of the United Nations General Assembly. I realize that this journal was passed on throughout Martin Luther King’s generation, but eventually, the King family decided they wanted to pass it on the United Nations headquarters. The United Nations has read through this journal, and we are very inspired by Frederick Douglass’s quote “If there is no struggle, there is no progress. As the President of the United Nations General Assembly, I understand Frederick’s thoughts. Possibly my greatest achievement with my job was proceeding with the World Food Program’s plan to help give food to those in need from the earthquake in Japan a few years

10. ago. Some of the World Food Program’s employees traveled half way around the world to deliver a small portion of food to each family affected by the natural disaster, suffering homesickness and sadness along the way. However, these people saved hundreds of thousands of lives from starvation. The employees and the hungry struggled to live after the disaster, but in the end, progress was made. I strongly suggest that you do something for the benefit of others if the opportunity is found. As you might know now, the United Nations has developed eight millennium goals to complete by 2015, but we are struggling to start our plans. Nevertheless, I believe that progress will be made sometime in the near future. Entry #2 Date: 2/19/14 All through this day, I have had to withstand the wave of stress. Throughout the duration of the second half of our assembly today, the United Nations discussed about the conflict of the shortage of energy around the world. Based off of 2007, the world energy output must rise by 29% to 640 quadrillion British thermal units by 2025. This will meet the demand

11. of the world. All in all, our ultimate goal now is to provide a sufficient supply of energy to the needy. Nonetheless, a 29% increase in the world energy output is an increase on the verge of being impossible to complete in only eleven years. I am sitting here, at my desk, with my brain tied in knots, trying to figure out a way to make this happen. It seems like the only thing that is keeping me going is Frederick’s quote, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” With only ten years to complete our new goal of insuring global energy, on top of that, we only have a little more than a year left for our eight millennium goals to be completed. It has been an extremely stressful time for my coworkers and me. Even through these difficult times, I remain confident that progress will be made over the next year, and once the goals are reached, the aftermath will be priceless. Our progress will be present in the near future.