Speaking forcefully from the 'I'

I recently finished reading the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave. Wow! It is quite the powerful book. One cannot help but respect and admire Douglass.

A quote stuck out that I would like to share:

This battle with Mr. Covey was the turning-point in my career as a slave. It rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom, and revived within me a sense of my own manhood. It recalled the departed self-confidence, and inspired me again with a determination to be free.... He only can understand the deep satisfaction which I experienced, who has himself repelled by force the bloody arm of slavery. I felt as I never felt before. It was a glorious resurrection, from the tomb of slavery, to the heaven of freedom. My long-crushed spirit rose, cowardice departed, bold defiance took its place; and I now resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact. I did not hesitate to let it be known of me, that the white man who expected to succeed in whipping, must also succeed in killing me (pp 82-83).

Hear in Douglass' voice how the brawl with Mr. Covey impacted the course of his life. It was an event that enabled Douglass to bring to life a Self he had been crafting in secret for some time. Douglass physically drew a line and declared--I go no further. The result was a fight. Douglass refused to submit to the racial hierarchy that Mr. Covey presupposed and asserted. In this resistance, in this moment of struggle, Douglass affirmed a sense of self worth, individuality and responsibility with regards to Mr. Covey in particular and the white man in general. He affirmed his agency in concrete terms, which helped him visualize and enact an emancipatory project.