The Paradigm of Male Domination in Their Eyes Were Watching God and Cane

            Throughout African American literature many authors have illustrated the position of black women within the community.  Within the Harlem Renaissance this theme has been explored most extensively by two of its most celebrated texts, Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and Jean Toomer's Cane.  These texts illustrate a need for expression within their characters with a particular focus on the needs of women.  Toomer and Hurston present the needs of these women alongside examples of men who misunderstand them.  These men place an emphasis on their belief that they their skills of expression are greater.  This misunderstanding and perceived superiority becomes a logic that allows them to ignore and stifle women.  The constant disregard for the needs of women serve to show that black women have a lower social standing which results in a masculine exertion of control and violence that is accepted within the community.  Male desire for control is manifested in the ways in which women are put down and thought of within the community.  Through their depiction of expression and understanding in male-female relationships, Toomer and Hurston present a portrait of black women as misunderstood, misguided, and mistreated by the communities they live in.

            Hurston's protagonist, Janie, and a number of Toomer's women, find themselves in positions of difficulty in terms of self expression and relation with the opposite sex.  Janie is oppressed by two husbands who stifle her expression until she finds Tea Cake.  Although she is allowed more freedom with Tea Cake than with her other two husbands, there is still evidence that he acts to suppress Janie in several situations.  A great number of Toomer's characters also experience this in various forms, such as Avey, who is consistently misunderstood by the narrator.  Finding expression can be difficult.  The many characters of Cane seem to want to find a catharsis in expression, in the way that Janie does, but as Mary Battenfeld claims "in the end, words do not liberate the people of Cane (87).  Even Janie's grandmother, Nanny, has searched for her own form of expression: "Ah wanted to preach a great sermon about colored women sittin' on high, but they wasn't no pulpit for me" (16).  These women have found it difficult to find a “pulpit” to express themselves from.

            The position of difficulty faced by these women stems from an inability for men to understand and interpret their needs and desires.  The various narrators of Cane consistently respond inappropriately to women: "The narrator responds inadequately to Avey's humming of the lullaby, just as he fails to respond to Becky's moan from beneath the mound, or to Fern's convulsive cries at the edge of the canebrake" (Grant 57).  The narrators’ ideas and responses often do not fit properly into the dialogue shared with females of the text, especially in the case of "Avey."  There is a wedge between Avey and the narrator thoughout the text.  The narrator erroneously believes that Avey will respond positively to his advances and stories, thinking that he now understands her as he previously did not.  Toomer's women offer different things to men, but most receive misunderstanding in return: "Each in her own way is an elusive beauty, who charitably or indifferently or inquisitively offers her body to men who will never understand her soul” (Turner 16).

            The capacity for female understanding of the unknowing narrators of Cane bears many similarities to the personality of Joe Starks.  His beliefs about Janie and women in general show his lack of understanding: "Somebody got to think for women and chillun and chickens and cows.  I god, they sho don't think none theirselves" (71).  He believes that women are incapable of speaking in a relevant way.  This belief is cemented for the reader as Janie is urged to make a speech: "The burst of applause was cut short by Joe taking the floor himself" (43).  By claiming "mah wife don't know nothin' 'bout no speech-makin'.  Ah never married her for nothin' lak dat.  She's uh woman and her place is in de home" (43), he shows that he does not see a capable person in Janie.  He also fails to understand why his marriage with Janie is not a loving one: "Here he was just pouring honor all over her; building a high chair for her to sit in and overlook the world and she here pouting over it!" (62). Joe misreads Janie's frustration and is bewildered by the fact that she is not showering him with gratitude.

            Not only do these men greatly misunderstand women, but they also greatly overestimate their own abilities of expression.  As a mostly impotent character, Ralph Kabnis greatly overestimates his ability to speak by asserting "I was born an bred in a family of orators, thats what I was" (151).  The male cast of Cane, especially Kabnis "yield a consciousness about self and language that is manifest at each male subject's limited awareness of the ethos of the machine" (Grant 49).  The narrator of Avey overestimates his abilities to speak through his attempts to out-talk Avey: "I talked.  I knew damned well that I could beat her at that" (59).  Although he produces no results, his insistent statements show the zeal and confidence with which he utilizes his language.  Much like Joe Starks, who Janie says is "Too busy listening tuh yo' own big voice" (87), these men believe their voices are more potent and impressive.  In her confrontation with Joe, Janie mounts an attack on this brand of thinking by claiming there is no substance behind such beliefs: "'tain't nothin' to it but yo' big voice" (79).

            Misunderstanding and inflated confidence creates an environment that allows Toomer and Hurston to illustrate the ways in which men use their assumptions and over-confidence to keep women from expressing themselves and ignore their wishes.  In "Kabnis" Halsey makes mention to Lewis how they are "Wasting time on common low-down women" (149).  The women of Kabnis are shown as being in an oppressive environment by being led down by the men into "the Hole" where "the walls are of stone" and there are "no openings save a small iron-barred window" (143), as if they had brought them down into a prison.  In "Blood Burning Moon," Tom tells Louisa he'll do what he usually does to a challenger for her affection—cut them.  When Louisa says "No, Tom—" he immediately dismisses her request: "I said I would an there aint no mo to it" (43). 

            The men in Janie's life take this to greater lengths, especially with Starks' treatment of Janie, forcing her to keep her hair tied up and silencing her at every chance she has to speak.  Because of his selfish inward focus throughout their marriage, he has no sympathy for Janie's want of expression.  With Joe on his death-bed, Janie castigates him for his actions: "now you got tuh die tuh find out dat you got tuh pacify somebody besides yo'self if you wants any love and any sympathy in dis world. You ain't tried tuh pacify nobody but yo'self" (86-87).  Her oppression doesn't end with Joe, however, as "Increasingly, Tea Cake attempts to speak for Janie, to tell her what her own desires are. But Janie's tongue isn't in Tea Cake's mouth" (Kaplan 132).  After finding a semi-safe place from the storm, Tea Cake makes a case to Janie that they must keep going, ignoring her wish to stay and discarding her judgment.

            The men who ignore the expressive needs of women do so for the sake of garnering their submission.  The male female paradigm within Cane and Their Eyes Were Watching God facilitates other kinds of mistreatment against women that manifests through controlling behavior that continues to put women in a place where they are unable to express themselves.  Influenced by role figures such as Nanny, who place economic value over all other considerations, these women are taught to seek security and forsake happiness while men provide economic security and over-zealous control.  By being referred to as "Tea Cake's Janie" by the community (186), she is interpreted as an object to be owned.  Joe Starks seeks to control and possess Janie through a variety of ways, from concealing her hair to stifling her speech.  As Janie claims, "When Ah wasn't in de store he wanted me tuh jes sit wid folded hands and sit dere.  And Ah'd sit dere wid de walls creepin' up on me and squeezin' all de life outa me" (113), Starks had a completely overpowering idea of the wife that Janie was supposed to be.  As Joe sinks deeper into sickness he becomes fixated on besting Janie: "Jody's ego has been assaulted by Janie's ever-expanding voice" (Grant 135).  This assault is something he feels the need to put down: "He wanted her submission and he'd keep on fighting until he felt he had it" (71). 

            The men of Cane have similar ideals and practices for women.  In "Blood Burning Moon" two men fight to the death over possession of a woman while in "Karintha" "the words of promise from black men that Karintha hears are words actually denoting pride and possession" (Grant 49).  Toomer's most powerful example of a male seeking control, however, is in "Avey."  The constant disconnect between Avey and the narrator causes hostility on the part of the narrator: "The narrator, having failed to 'succeed' at the university, leaves it for 'good' without accomplishing anything.  He returns to Washington hoping, for his own peace of mind, that the city has 'forgotten' Avey.  To his discomfiture, Ned, 'between curses' of outrage at his failure to 'have' her, declares 'she was no better than a whore'"  (McKay 136).  His desires become obvious as he claims "I had the notion that if I really wanted to, I could do with her just what I pleased" (60). 

            Another form of control exercised by the male characters is violence.  Toomer's men express a subtle violence that is often based in the desires they express: "Bane accused her.  She denied.  He couldn't see that she was becoming hysterical.  He would have liked to take his fists and beat her.  Who was strong as a man.  Stronger" (15).  Violence also happens in the form of sexual abuse, as Halsey almost forces himself onto Cora: "Halsey grabs her arm and pulls her to him.  She struggles.  Halsey pins her arms and kisses her.  She settles, spurting like a pine-knot afire" (152).  By spurting like a "pine-knot afire" she clearly seethes quietly, unable to protest to this action.  Without a word Halsey silences her and wins her submission through force.

            Janie also experiences violence primarily from the whipping she receives from Tea Cake in response to Mrs. Turner's insistence that she meet her brother.  While Janie has done nothing wrong, Tea Cake sees this as a prime opportunity to exert his control upon her.  What sets Janie's experience apart from those in Cane is the way in which the community is shown clearly reacting to it: "Forever suspended is the community's understanding of the flaws in Tea Cake's earnest expression of black manhood, and thus any possibility for its mediating them" (Grant 144).   The community sees his actions as worthy of applause.  Tea Cake's friends congratulate him and express their disappointment that they are unable to do the same.  Nanny's earlier response to Janie's issues with Logan Killicks also shows that such treatment is normal and expected: "dat grassgut, liver-lipted nigger ain't done took and beat mah baby already! Ah'll take a stick and salivate 'im!" (Hurston 22).  She immediately jumps to the conclusion that Janie must be sad because Logan has already started abusing her.

            The community's opinion of violence against women is one of the ways in which Toomer and Hurston show that the value of women in the black community is very low.  As Halsey claims, "Th nigger hates th sight of a black woman worse than death.  Sorry t mix y up this way, Lewis.  But y see how tis" (146).  Women are made out to be despised creatures, which Halsey assumes Lewis readily recognizes.  Toomer's depiction of black women as highly sexualized objects like Avey also shows the value placed upon them is one of a possession or a sexual object.  As Stella claims, "Boars an kids an fools—thats all I've known" (148), she illustrates the way in which her life has been lived to raise children and probably stay in the home.  By claiming she has only known “boars,” she alludes to the fact that the men in her life may have been abusive and animal-like, as well as emotionally unfulfilling and boring.

            The communities of Their Eyes also have a negative value of women that is expressed through the many voices within it.  Phoebe's husband discounts her value as she claims he told her "no first class booger would have me" (4).  From the men who admire Tea Cake for beating Janie to Nanny’s own opinion of black masculinity, everyone sees actions like beatings and mistreatment of women as commonplace.  The men who talk about Tony's wife on the front porch unanimously declare that if she were their wife they would surely "break her or kill her" (71). Nanny's words suggest a predatory nature in black men: "'Whut Ah seen just now is plenty for me, honey, Ah don't want no trashy nigger, no breath-and-britches, lak Johnny Taylor usin' yo' body to wipe his foots on" (13).  Whether predatory or not, women are expected to rely on men.  While the community knows that men often treat women badly, women aren’t shown as having a chance without a partner.  Without a man Janie becomes an outcast in the community.  As the novel begins she is the source of malicious gossip for returning alone, and after Tea Cake's death the community stands against her at her trial. 

            As two of the most successful pictures of black femininity of the Harlem Renaissance, Cane and Their Eyes Were Watching God stand as a snapshot of social conventions and mores revolving around women of the time.  Janie eventually finds herself in complete control over her voice, especially through the narration, written in a pseudo first person style that mimics her speech.  Toomer's women are less fortunate, however, as they do not acquire speech in the way that Janie is able to.  Many of them meet a tragic end.  Regardless of the outcome, the authors paint a dismal picture for African American women as living in an environment where they are constantly put down in a variety of ways.  It is a portrayal of a system where women are dependent upon men, but the men use this dependence to misuse and mistreat them, providing an unfulfilling environment to women who are presented with few options for the direction of their lives.

Works Cited

Battenfeld, Mary. ""Been Shapin Words T Fit M Soul": Cane, Language, and Social Change." Callaloo. 25.4 (2002): 1238-1249. Print.

Grant, Nathan. Masculinist Impulses . Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2004. Print.

Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Harper Perennial, 2006. Print.

Kaplan, Carla. "The Erotics of Talk: "That Oldest Human Longing" in their Eyes Were Watching God."American Literature. 67.1 (1995): 115-142. Print.

McKay, Nellie. Jean Toomer, Artist. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1984. Print.

Toomer, Jean. Cane. 2nd. New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2011. Print.

The Discord of Abolitionist Efforts Through Douglass and Walker

            Before the Thirteenth Amendment, the cause of how to approach abolition was widely addressed in literature through a policy of appeasement to white readers.  The biographical slave narrative gained a vast amount of popularity due to its ability to be accepted by white readers and black readers alike. Utilized by Frederick Douglass with Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the genre became a tool that avoided causing commotion and slowly tried to gain ground for the cause of abolition.  Others argued for immediate solutions. David Walker's Appeal sought to incite open rebellion in the tradition of men like Denmark Vesey.  Walker's Appeal and Douglass' Narrative converge in their ideas of religion.  Both men were devout Christians, utilizing the extreme hypocrisy of the institution of chattel slavery to further the agenda of abolition with varying degrees of success.  Both men sought to affirm black humanity and motivate the enslaved to find hope.  Walker, writing exclusively for blacks and abolitionists, was a staunch Methodist who verged upon calling himself a prophet, calling for rebellion and prophesying a divine intervention that would ultimately end slavery.   Douglass took to the opposite end of the spectrum by creating his narrative in the popular style, taking a gentler, nonviolent stance that allowed white and black readers alike a chance to read and sympathize with the cause.  Although both authors aimed to highlight the hypocrisy of slaveholders' utilization of Christianity, Douglass' softer methods met with considerable success, with Douglass ultimately becoming a leader among African Americans and reaching approval from a wider audience.

            Walker and Douglass, like many abolitionists, drew references from the Bible to augment their arguments and recognized the many ways religion was utilized in the South. The biblical story of Hebrew slavery was often presented in comparison to the contemporary American slavery of the time. Many African Americans saw a parallel between themselves and biblical Jews, as Rufus Barrow claims in God and Human Responsibility: "From the time of American slavery through the present, there has been a deep appreciation among many African Americans for the prophetic tradition of the Jewish and Christian faiths" (1).  This is due directly to the inhumane and indignant treatment resulting from slavery (1). As slaves learned to delve deeper into Christianity, they learned beyond the sections and parts that their white masters would allow and learned of the deliverance of the Hebrews from Egypt. 

            It was common to censor sections of the bible that were seen as inappropriate for slaves to learn.  For slaveholders' purposes, neither the Old nor New Testament make any mention of slavery being immoral, but instead offer a sort of guideline for conduct of slaves and masters.  As Donald Gibson claims of Southern preaching in African American Review, "most sermons directed at slaves were based on one or both of two passages: 'He that knoweth his master's will and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes' (Luke 12:47) and 'Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ' (Ephesians 6:5)" (594).

            It is for this reason that both Douglass and Walker use religion in their pro-abolition literature.  They converge with a unified message that does not demonize religion, but rather points out the incongruous statements made by slaveholders that did not fit with "proper" religion.  Walker believed strongly in God and was a staunch supporter of the Boston Methodist church (Crockett 306).  Douglass was also a believer in Christianity, with the Bible being the text he was most familiar with and creating the foundation for his arguments against slavery (Gibson 594). 

            Due partly to their strong convictions, they saw the hypocrisy inherent in slavery and attacked it.  Douglass points out the hypocrisy in the appendix of Narrative: "We see the thief preaching against theft, and the adulterer against adultery.  We have men sold to build churches, women sold to support the gospel, and babies sold to purchase Bibles for the poor heathen! all [sic] for the glory of God and the good of souls!" (448). He further develops his argument by claiming of his master, Covey, "he was a professor of religion—a pious soul—a member and a class-leader in the Methodist church" (420), showing how those most religious were most brutal. Walker makes a similar claim by using cynical examples, sarcastically claiming that teaching slaves to read is an unpardonable offense in ”this Christian country" (412).  By using "Christian" as a modifier, Walker highlights the way in which slaveholders ignore the Christian principles of helping the poor, showing compassion, and shunning excessive wealth.

            Although similar in their religious convictions, the two men shared differing opinions of their Christian beliefs.  According to Barrow, Walker's motivation for the pamphlet was partly due to his spiritual beliefs:  "Because David Walker believed slavery to be an abomination and sin against God and humanity, he did not hesitate to prophesy divine wrath on those who refused to liberate the enslaved" (13).  Walker was much more passionate in his religion than Douglass, and while not fully a zealot, he considered himself as adhering to the tradition of Hebrew prophecy.  His arguments center around the religion of the Hebrew prophets, which declares "God's anger and impatience with indifference toward social evil and injustice" (Barrow 182). 

            Because of his focus on the Old Testament's reason and prophecy, Walker's ideology was one that offered justice and reckoning to slaveholders.  In his Appeal, Walker asks, "Will he not cause the very children of the oppressors to rise up against them, and oftimes put them to death?" (230).  Walker, in other words, is asking rhetorically if a slave rebellion is not only inevitable, but also ordained and sanctioned by God.  He stresses the idea of a God of justice who sees blacks and whites in the same light, offering justice to those suffering under the pain of slavery.  He asks of white slaveholders, "Will any peace be given unto them? Their destruction may indeed be procrastinated awhile, but can it continue long, while they are oppressing the Lord's people? Has He not the hearts of all men in His hand?" (231).  He continues to cite scripture, claiming that men should claim no other master than God, and inviting revolt against those who would take God's place as a natural master of another human being. 

            Calling another man master in place of God takes a central role in Walker's attack of the Christianity of the South.  In his claim, "If it were possible, would they not dethrone Jehovah and seat themselves upon his throne?" (238), Walker seeks to incite anger against those who would believe themselves proper Christians. By pointing out the hypocrisy of the beliefs, he seeks to stir anger against them.  By sarcastically calling them "an enlightened and Christian people," (232), he makes a focused and unapologetic attack.

            Another focus in the Appeal is the affirmation of black humanity through divine imagery.  According to Barrow, "Walker argues that human worth is given by God, and is an inalienable right that other humans are not able to take away" (107).  This is highlighted when Walker repeatedly refers to the humanity of his readers with rhetorical statements such as "Are we Men!!"  He repeatedly refers to and affirms the essential humanity of African Americans.  As Barrow claims, "He knew that if blacks began to believe in and assert their humanity and dignity, it would no longer matter to them what whites thought.  The liberation of their minds would enable them to focus more on their own problems, aspirations, and how best to love, befriend, and live with each other in a spirit of community" (111).  His Appeal was fierce, but aside from an invitation to slave rebellion, Walker promoted values exclusively to his people.  This narrow range of audience allowed him to make a direct plea without taking white readers into consideration.

            Due to Walker's brutal attacks on Christianity and focus only on enslaved blacks, his stern and angry brand of abolition earned him the title of militant abolitionist.  As Hasan Crockett claims, "Walker's radicalism spilled over into his clothing business.  He devised the clever plan of planting the Appeal in the pockets of the jackets and trousers he sold" (306).  His pamphlet became contraband in the Southern states, forcing him to distribute the pamphlet in creative ways.  Rather than openly publish and spread the Appeal, Walker managed to distribute it secretly through his clothing store. By slipping the pamphlets into sailors' uniforms, he ensured that the Appeal would safely travel to the South undetected. His continued publishing and distribution was not without repercussions.  Although not empirically proven, he was found dead in his home several months after publishing a third edition of the Appeal, with the widely held belief being that Walker lost his life due to his distribution of the pamphlet. 

            While Walker's ideology led to downfall, Douglass met with success.  The religious beliefs of Frederick Douglass expressed a different and softer side of religion that also stressed individualism.  As Wolfgang Mieder claims, "Morality and religion were one and the same thing for Frederick Douglass . . .  the so-called Golden Rule . . . would become the perfect embodiment of human equality for him.  It appears again and again for over fifty years . . . and it must be considered as Douglass' rhetorical and philosophical leitmotif" (349). Douglass was also able ask questions of Christianity while still believing in its major tenets.  This questioning and emphasis on a person's own worth stressed individualistic ideals: "As Douglass sees it, he is slave to none.  The Lord must not and cannot free him; he must free himself" (Gibson 599).  He believed that individualism reflected the will of God in encouraging an individual to reach their greatest potential (Gibson 601). 

            Douglass' beliefs spill over into his Narrative as he appeals to the Christian sense of his readers.  Shaking up the idea of how a gentle Christian should act, he plays on how one would expect a Christian master to be kind and gentle as the Bible instructs.  Douglass depicts slaveholders as immoral and bad examples of Christian ethics.  Instead of gentle masters, he depicts slave masters on a sliding scale of equal violence with religious fervor.  Men like Covey illustrate his point by being vicious and relentless, forcing slaves into immoral (and thus unchristian) behavior.  He champions morality as he claims Covey was said to have "been guilty of compelling his woman slaves to commit the sin of adultery" (423) in the form of a "breeder."  He expands his moral argument as he speaks of Covey: "Mr. Covey's forte consisted in his power to deceive.  His life was devoted to planning and perpetrating the grossest deceptions" (422).

            Douglass' criticism of these practitioners of Christianity was acceptable to many due to his use of the slave narrative.  Although Walker's Appeal was targeted directly at enslaved men and women, Douglass would cast a wider net by aiming not to offend white Christians, but to raise their awareness and arouse disgust in the practice of slavery.  The aim was to point out a corruption of a religion claimed by non-slaveholding whites and drive them to support abolition as a result.  The slave narrative was a proper choice because it was popular among whites.  It had become a way reach out to white readers and show them the horrors of slavery.  It was acceptable in a way Walker's pamphlet simply was not, as well as a narrative that could be read for pleasure. 

            That Douglass' Narrative was readable to whites is telling of its success.  As David Walker may have died for his publishing efforts, Douglass instead became a great leader of the people.  He tells a story of a man as a slave, finding education and making himself by his own means.  As Walker's Appeal was banned and had to be subversively distributed, Douglass was able to publish his slave narrative openly.  His offense to non-slaveholders is softened by peppering his Narrative with conciliatory statements, such as "Bad as all slaveholders are, we seldom meet one destitute of every element of character commanding respect" (418).  He is further conciliatory in the fact that he devotes his appendix to clear up any misconceptions readers may have had from reading Narrative: "What I have said respecting and against religion, I mean strictly to apply to the slaveholding religion of this land, and with no possible reference to Christianity proper" (448).

            Frederick Douglass' choice to publish an autobiographical slave narrative was not only a vogue of the period, but was a vehicle to deliver themes that challenged contemporary ideas and furthered the cause of abolition.  Without the convention of the slave narrative Douglass may never have been able to reach such a wide audience.  Walker's choice to publish a pamphlet likely had little to do with popularity in white circles, and had everything to do with empowering those it was written for while disregarding those on the periphery who were not directly involved.  It is likely that figures such as Nat Turner found inspiration in Walker's tenacious dedication and radical ideas by putting his invitations to rebellion into practice.  Rebellion such as Turner's however, never ended in victory because they did not have the backing of the majority.  As history shows, Douglass' nonviolent literature and rhetoric earned him an upper echelon position, preceding black leaders like  Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois.  His wider appeal to white culture had a far greater impact than Walker's charged words could have hoped for.

            In addition to Christianity, the Appeal and Narrative also share the theme of expression and affirmation of humanity.  Douglass affirms humanity by stressing education and the horrors of slavery that he encountered in his life.  By showing how a "slave was made a man" (424) Douglass contests the Southern white concept of African slaves as inhuman.  Walker's pamphlet aims at empowering both enslaved and free African Americans.  In Walker's eyes, the Hebrew slaves that he refers to were slaves but never considered sub-human. He claims it was never the case "that the Egyptians heaped the insupportable insult upon the children of Israel, by telling them that they were not of the human family" (233). 

Works Cited

Barrow, Rufus. God and Human Responsibility: David Walker and Ethical Prophecy. Macon: Mercer University Press, 2003. Print.

Crockett, Hasan. "The Incendiary Pamphlet: David Walker's Appeal in Georgia." Journal of Negro History. 86.3 (2001): 305-318. Print.

Douglass, Frederick. "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass." Gates and McKay 387-452.

Gates, Henry Louis, and McKay, Nelley Y., ed. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. New York: Norton & Company, 2004. Print

Gibson, Donald. "Christianity and Individualism: (Re-)Creation and Reality in Frederick Douglass's Representation of Self." African American Review. 26.4 (1992): 591-603. Print.

Mieder, Wolfgang. ""Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You": Frederick Douglass's Proverbial Struggle for Civil Rights." Journal of American Folklore. 114.453 (2001): 331-357. Print.

Walker, David. "David Walker's Appeal in Four Articles; Together with a Preamble, to the Coloured Citizens of the World." Gates and McKay     228-238.