Frederick Douglass (1817? - 1895) is a towering iconic African American historical figure who continues to exert a powerful hold upon the historical memory of an ascendant humanity that continues to struggle against all odds for social justice in America. As a Black radical abolitionist, writer, philosopher of human freedom and fugitive slave lecturer, Douglass was known for his outstanding oratorical prowess, tireless intellectual engagement and existential commitment to the socio-historical struggle against the enslavement of human 'being'. Douglass himself was born into chattel slavery on Maryland's Eastern Shore as the son of an enslaved Black mother and white slavemaster. After learning to read and write, Douglass escaped slavery in 1838 and then became an abolitionist 'fugitive slave lecturer' by 1841. Douglass not only lectured throughout the continental United States, but throughout the British Isles on three separate tours from 1845 to 1847, 1859 to 1860 and 1886 to 1887. Douglass wrote the first of three world renowned autobiographies in 1845, entitled Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave: Written by Himself, followed by My Bondage and My Freedom (1855) and then The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1893).