The Voice of Frederick Douglass on Sports Talk Radio
Frederick Douglass, born a slave in Maryland, would become one of the most prominent Americans of the nineteenth century. In many ways he was the precursor to the modern-day celebrity. In an age before mass media, he traveled hundreds of thousands of miles during his lifetime and spoke all over the world as a dynamic voice for human rights. Douglass’s life reads like the flip side of US history I learned as a kid. It’s like being raised on the story of Isaac, but his is the story of Ishmael.
Some events of nineteenth century America bring me peace, knowing that many of the current events we find unprecedented have happened before. For instance, I did not know that America went through a great recession in 1873. Or given the anxious tension surrounding the 2020 election, it is helpful to know that America already faced a contested election and constitutional crisis in 1876. The results of who would be the next president were in doubt for months and given that this was only one decade removed from the end of the Civil War, many thought the country would slide back into war and sectionalism. This constitutional crisis was resolved by the so-called “Compromise of 1877”, a behind the scenes agreement hammered out in a smoke-filled room. The compromise entailed Republicans gaining the presidency and in return Reconstruction would largely be abandoned in all but name. The rights, hopes, and dreams of black Americans were the price tag to bring reconciliation between northern and southern whites.[1]
At that time Douglass perceived the ground shifting beneath his feet, the hard-won gains from the abolitionist movement and America’s bloody civil war being undone. By the 1870s a weariness towards reconstruction and civil rights had set in amongst northerners. There was a desire to move on, to get things back to normal. His words foretold that what was left undone would continue to come back.
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Since the pandemic began in America, I’ve basically stopped watching sports and movies. My sole entertainment has been listening to the Mike Valenti and Rico Beard sports talk radio show.[2] You would think that given the disruptions to major league sports this year a radio show of this kind would not be so good. To their credit, this show has only gotten better post-COVID as they’ve begun to tackle larger conversations around race, inequality, and the lies at the heart of our political systems. Mixed in is the normal rants against the Detroit Lions, our clownish impersonation of an NFL organization. It’s sport talk radio, but there’s depth to the topics – an overarching theme of the anger that comes with the feelings of futility, whether it be as a Lion’s fan or a black American.
Valenti’s show became even more engaging in the weeks following George Floyd’s murder. For days on end the hosts did not do the usual topics surrounding sports in Detroit and opened up their phone lines for a discussion on our country’s history and current culture as it pertains to race. Some of the conversations were hopeful and some were quite discouraging. There were more than a few angry callers who felt that the protests and rioting over the summer were based on rootless complaints. Listening closely, you could almost hear the anger and weariness of the 1870s in people’s comments:
“Why can’t things go back to normal?”
“Why are we still talking about this?”
“Maybe it’s a problem but it’s got nothing to do with me.”
It was during this time that I read the following quote from Douglass:
“A great truth breaks upon the vision of some early riser, and straightaway he wakes up the drowsy world with the announcement of the day and the work. Sleepy people don’t like to be disturbed. They hate the troubler...draw their curtains...turn their backs to the light.” [1] (389)
Though he’s been gone for 125 years, Frederick Douglass’s prophetic message still haunts us. It’s interesting to consider, if the American body is not sick then why all these lingering symptoms of illness? Many of us would rather turn our heads and move on.
During those early summer days, a pair of radio hosts in Detroit were shouting to their slumbering listeners, warning them to wake up because the house was on fire. And the listeners, so full of rage to be woken out of bed in the middle of the night!
REFERENCES
1. Blight, David W. Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom. 2018 Simon & Schuster. New York, NY
2. https://www.radio.com/971theticket