Frederick Douglass Depiction in PragerU Slavery Video Called 'Sickening'

Conservative educational content producer PragerU is facing criticism online over its depiction of Black abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass in an animated lesson.

Social media users called a video in which Douglass agrees that the founding fathers had to "compromise" on slavery in drafting the U.S. Constitution and urges children to work within the system to change society "sickening."

They argued that the clip appears to use the early civil rights campaigner's likeness to justify why the founding fathers did not ban slavery at the nation's inception and make a subtle dig at modern-day civil rights activists.

The non-profit organization, which has previously faced controversy over host comments on the n-word and the Holocaust, provides educational content to public and private schools. Last week, it was approved as an official vendor by the Florida Department of Education.

A spokesperson for PragerU rejected the criticism of the video in comments given to Newsweek and suggested the content was historically accurate.

In the video, Douglass is depicted as answering the questions of two modern-day children. The animated character says: "Our founding fathers knew that slavery was evil and wrong, and they knew that it would do terrible harm to the nation.

"Their priority was getting all 13 colonies to unite as one country. The Southern colonies were dependent on slave labor, and they wouldn't have joined the union if they had banned it."

He adds later in the video: "Our system is wonderful, and the Constitution is a glorious liberty document. We just need to convince enough Americans to be true to it."

Among the 21 prominent founding fathers, 14—or two-thirds—were known to have held slaves. Though many acknowledged that slavery was antithetical to the principle of liberty, they balanced it with rights to private property and a limited government when drafting the Constitution.

Asked by one of the children if he agreed with the decision, Douglass then says: "I'm certainly not OK with slavery, but the founding fathers made a compromise to achieve something great, the making of the United States. It was America that began the conversation to end it."

While northern states were among the first territories to outlaw slavery in the early 19th century, the abolition movement had been growing in Europe for several decades, with nations such as Denmark and France abolishing the practice well before the U.S. did.

The animated Douglass then mentions William Lloyd Garrison, a fellow abolitionist and friend, describing him as someone who "refuses all compromises, demands immediate change, and if he doesn't get what he wants, he likes to set things on fire."

Historical texts suggest Garrison argued for the immediate end of slavery and in 1854 burned a copy of the Constitution, holding that it had allowed slavery to continue. This prompted a falling out with Douglass the following year after the latter revised his view of the Constitution as being interpretable as anti-slavery.

In 1852, Douglass gave a speech in which he described the founding fathers as "statesmen, patriots and heroes" but said of Independence Day: "This Fourth of July is yours, not mine, you may rejoice, I must mourn."

After his description of Garrison, one of the children says it "sounds familiar," adding: "We've got that type in our time."

"Of all the PragerU propaganda you've seen, this might be the worst," David Heath, an investigative journalist and author, wrote on Monday, in a tweet that has been viewed 1.3 million times. "Frederick Douglass takes a dig at BLM while praising the founding fathers as abolitionists and calling the Constitution a 'glorious liberty document.'"

A PragerU spokesperson replied: "Note to David Heath, the description of The Constitution as a 'glorious liberty document' is a direct quote from Frederick Douglass in his "Fourth of July Speech" in 1852."

They added that BLM "is a proven, corrupt group of Marxist radicals. Most Americans know this by now."

"There is absolutely no person who has ever studied Frederick Douglass or read his writings who could possibly imagine him saying anything like this," tweeted Ron Filipkowski, a former federal prosecutor. "It is disgusting that [Florida] kids are being brainwashed and lied to like this."

A PragerU spokesperson responded that Filipkowski "should read Frederick Douglass' writings and speeches, given that he doesn't seem familiar with his most famous speech [Fourth of July, 1852] which was quoted in the video."

"This is painfully egregious," said Ameshia Cross, a Democratic strategist and political analyst. "Not only are these PragerU videos ahistorical, but they are also a mockery and whitewashing of Black history and the Black experience. Conservatives are spreading revisionist history and lies on purpose."

The PragerU spokesperson characterized this comment as "a typical ad hominem attack without mentioning a single erroneous fact."

Historian Adam Rothman cited a 1852 speech by Douglass in which he suggested the way to end fugitive slave laws—which forced northern states to return escaped slaves to where they were owned—was to "make half a dozen or more dead kidnappers." The PragerU spokesperson described this as "a non-sequitur."

Newsweek reached out to the Florida Department of Education via email for comment on Tuesday.

Update 08/10/23, 3:10 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from a PragerU spokesperson.