Gerald Ensley: Frederick Douglass role promotes understanding

(This column was fist printed in the Tallahassee Democrat on Jan. 30, 2011

The first time John Anderson played the role of Frederick Douglass, he found himself "ranting and raving about slavery" to little effect. White Southerners attending the annual Battle of Olustee re-enactment near Lake City barely stopped to listened. Children looked at him with puzzled faces.

So, like any good actor — or educator — he re-examined his portrayal. And six years later, his performance as the famous 19th century orator and former slave is more measured, more informed by the complexities of the Civil War.

Which is why Anderson is a popular speaker at Civil War re-enactments and Black history events and is one of the stars of a new documentary.

"I throw out contemporary feelings of race," Anderson said. "I talk about history and try to get people to understand why the Civil War came about and not be concerned about the ugliness of the racial problems."

Anderson, 55, has been a chemist for the state agriculture department for 25 years. He has two degrees from Florida State University, and is a musician (bass, clarinet) who has played in local bands.

He is part of a troupe of Black Civil War re-enactors founded by his mother, Mary Fears, a Daytona Beach educator and story teller. In 2001, Fears attended the Olustee re-enactment and was struck by the paucity of black spectators — a point of concern also to organizers of the re-enactment, whose ranks include black Union Army re-enactors.

So, since 2002, Fears has put on a show at Olustee's annual February re-enactment. The shows illuminate the few well-known black figures of the Civil War: Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, But they also tell the stories of some of the thousands of little-publicized free and slave blacks who participated in the war. Blacks such as seamstress Elizabeth Keckley, nurse Susie King Taylor, bridge builder Horace King and riverboat pilot Robert Smalls played significant roles — as did many black blacksmiths, potters, shoemakers, spies and guides.

A few years ago, a filmmaker saw the Olustee show and decided to make a documentary. The result is "Filling The Gap," nominated for the NAACP Image Awards, which will be announced in March.

"The people we talk about have been left out of the history textbooks," said Fears, who has written a guidebook for Black Civil War re-enactors. "So, students receive a distorted view of the Civil War as far as blacks are concerned. That's why this movie was important."

Anderson's mother recruited him to play Douglass at Olustee originally because of his appearance — though she now marvels at his performance. As a self-admitted "leftover of the hippie generation," Anderson still sports long hair. His mane, combined with the 6-foot-3, 240-pounder's broad face, gives him a striking resemblance to the orator.

"He does favor Frederick Douglass," said his mother. "I'm so proud of him. When he speaks, everyone stops in their tracks to listen."

Anderson has brought extensive research to the role. He read Douglass' books and studied landmark legislation. He became an expert on abolitionists and the Emancipation Proclamation. He does not perform specific speeches by Douglass, though he invokes a deeper voice, 19th century colloquialisms and many of Douglass' opinions.

Anderson emphasizes that civilization was different 150 years ago: Society accepted the premise of holding humans in bondage, as proven by the 1857 Dred Scott decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that ruled slaves were not citizens but property.

"Slavery seems absurd now," he said. "But it was the law of the land at the time."

He explains the Civil War as a clash of "very American" instincts: The South's insistence that "no government is going to tell us what to do." The belief by some that the future of slavery expansion should be decided by the ballot box. And Abraham Lincoln's insistence that federal law must be obeyed.

Anderson strives particularly to "teach slavery without hate" — which allows him to have reasonable, sometimes emotional conversations with Southern whites who attend Civil War re-enactments. At least three times, he said, white men have wound up crying on his shoulder.

"They're there because they're proud of their history, but they don't know how to deal with the ugliness of slavery," Anderson said. "The Civil War was about slavery. But it was not about the love or hatred of the Negro. When I can explain that to them, they are proud of their history."

Though his day job doesn't allow him much time to play Douglass, he is trying to promote his mother's film. And he expects to continue the role for many years.

"I feel I'm doing something valuable," he said. "It makes me feel like a teacher."

Gerald Ensley was a reporter and columnist for the Tallahassee Democrat from 1980 until his retirement in 2015. He died in 2018 following a stroke. The Tallahassee Democrat is publishing columns capturing Tallahassee’s history from Ensley’s vast archives each Sunday through 2024 in the Opinion section as part of the TLH 200: Gerald Ensley Memorial Bicentennial Project. There are still about two dozen copies of a book of Ensley's columns available exclusively at Midtown Reader, 1123 Thomasville Road, or midtownreader.com . Proceeds from the sale of the book and contributions have been used to establish an endowed scholarship for budding journalists at FSU, and have also brought this project to life in celebration of our 200th anniversary.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Send letters to the editor (up to 200 words) or Your Turn columns (about 500 words) to letters@tallahassee.com . Please include your address for verification purposes only, and if you send a Your Turn, also include a photo and 1-2 line bio of yourself. You can also submit anonymous Zing!s at Tallahassee.com/Zing. Submissions are published on a space-available basis. All submissions may be edited for content, clarity and length, and may also be published by any part of the USA TODAY NETWORK.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Gerald Ensley: Frederick Douglass role promotes understanding