# Suggest passage for reading aloud, "African-Americans in the Civil War"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-passage-for-reading-aloud-african-americans-in-the-civil-war/568335>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [January 20, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-passage-for-reading-aloud-african-americans-in-the-civil-war/568335 "2011-01-20T16:28:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-passage-for-reading-aloud-african-americans-in-the-civil-war/568335/1 "2011-01-20T16:28:16Z")

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I’m looking for an inspirational (or at least non-soporific) speech for a reading at a Black History Month event coming up. The “theme” this year is, “African-Americans in the Civil War,” due to the sesquicentennial (150th anniversary).

Someone else already copped the Gettysburg address, and I was offered the Emancipation Proclamation, but I’m inclined to pick something else, as the Proc is dull reading at best (“A poor Document, but a mighty Act,” as Governor John Andrew famously described it.)

I did Frederick Douglass’s _Oration in Memory of Abraham Lincoln_ in a previous year:

> [@](#):
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> Viewed from the genuine abolition ground, Mr. Lincoln seemed tardy, cold, dull, and indifferent; but measuring him by the sentiment of his country, a sentiment he was bound as a statesman to consult, he was swift, zealous, radical, and determined.

But I wouldn’t hesitate to do a different Douglass piece if there’s a good one out there. I can and will cut down for size and to eliminate tedious parts.

I’m looking around myself, but I’ll happily consider suggestions.

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**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-passage-for-reading-aloud-african-americans-in-the-civil-war/568335/2 "2011-01-21T11:09:26Z")

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Who are you trying to inspire?

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**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-passage-for-reading-aloud-african-americans-in-the-civil-war/568335/3 "2011-01-21T13:07:14Z")

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It’s a very small Federal government agency, part of a series of events for Black History Month (February). This one will involve snacks and two people reading passages that have some relevance to the theme. I used “inspirational” mainly to indicate that I’m hoping to find something interesting enough to keep attendees from dozing off, slumping out of their chairs, and injuring themselves – it’s a safety agency, after all.

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**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-passage-for-reading-aloud-african-americans-in-the-civil-war/568335/4 "2011-01-21T15:37:54Z")

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Here’s a real curveball: [General Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Address](http://www.tennessee-scv.org/ForrestHistSociety/forrest_speech.html) to the Independent Order of Pole Bearers (a precursor to the NAACP) on July 5, 1875. Though it was ten years after the war, the connection is easy: Forrest was one the Confederacy’s best generals, and is usually seen as being a virulent racist.

It will certainly generate discussion.