Although a little over a century apart, Frederick Douglass and Barack Obama shared a passion for change and the betterment of all people that remain unswayed, even today. Many trials and tribulations they’ve encountered but through faith and strong beliefs, these two men kept themselves together and helped run a nation. The pair came from backgrounds deviating in some matters but correspondent in others. Backgrounds that could have made them lose faith and give up or not even try, were definitely apart of their past. However, due to their incredible minds and attentive grasps on life these two men made very remarkable changes in this nation for many people. “It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.” -Frederick Douglass
Even though this was said later on in his life, evidence of these beliefs raised their head early on in his life as a child. Douglass chose to be his own fire and find ways to learn to read. His thirst for knowledge began when his Master’s started teaching him. After she was forbidden to teach him any longer, he did not give up. Douglass decided he still wanted to learn to read, so he developed some tricks. He used bread to get poor little white boys, who didn’t have much, to teach him a thing or two in reading. He also used tricks like telling the white boys that he knew something they didn’t and when they would try and out beat him by showing him something he didn’t know, he would learn what they showed him while building his vocabulary. Douglass also used his Master Thomas’ school writing books to teach himself to write. He would practice copying what Master Thomas had written on the unused pages left in the book. Eventually, his handwriting was as well as his Master’s. Frederick Douglass did not just stop when he ran into problems he kept the