Who is the Biggest Frederick Douglass Fan at Fitz?

As we near the end of the 2023-2024 school year, eighth graders learn about the history of Frederick Douglass and his impact on history in both their English and history classes. Recently, there has been a friendly conflict between two teachers who claim that they are the biggest Frederick Douglass fan at Fitz. His impact on history and charm has attracted our two contenders, Ms. Gil, a history teacher, and Ms. Gunderson, an English teacher. 

For those who do not know who Frederick Douglass is, he was an American reformer, abolitionist, and writer who was born into slavery in the 1800s and the greatest African-American of his time. In his time of being enslaved, he taught himself how to read and write while experiencing and witnessing the terrors of slavery including the death and beating of his friends, relatives, fellow enslaved, and even his own grandmother. Douglass is one of the most famous and well-known American figures in history and teachers still go over his historical impact in schools all over the world. Douglass’ greatness is undeniable and has caused some tension within our campus and an altercation between two of our teachers.

Our first contestant, Ms. Gunderson, is an English teacher at Fitz Intermediate and teaches advanced English for both 7th and 8th graders. She finds Frederick Douglass attractive because she admires his beautiful writing style despite enslaved people not being allowed to learn how to read or write. In 8A English, she has been teaching her students the book, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, for the last nine years, three times each year! Because of this fact, she states, “I am intimately acquainted with Frederick's mind, thoughts, and words--and after all, isn't a meeting of the minds the best basis upon which to build true love?” Ms. Gunderson claims that the best way to connect with and love someone is to be able to understand their words and feelings and she also believes that that is why she is the bigger Frederick Douglass fan. The fact that she has been reading and teaching his biography for several years further shows how much dedication Ms. Gunderson has to spread his words and messages. On top of this, she adds why she finds him attractive saying, “I admire his polished good looks and strong person. Come on, now--that's a handsome man!” It seems that both Douglass’ words and looks make Frederick Douglass such an attractive man to Ms. Gunderson! For fun, we asked her how she would react if she met Frederick Douglass in real life and she responded, “If I met him as a young adult, I would admire his beauty and talents, and if I met him as a middle-aged or older man, I would hope to be his friend!” Ms. Gunderson seems to have very wholesome feelings about Douglass, but how does one express love to someone who isn’t in the world anymore? Merch, obviously! Ms. Gunderson claims that she has a life-size poster of Frederick Douglass in her classroom, his biography, and a hand puppet of him coming in the mail! Our first contestant already seems to have a big heart for Frederick Douglass. Let’s see if our second contestant is as much of a fangirl as Ms. Gunderson!

Our second contestant, Ms. Gil, is a history and DLI teacher who also leads the Latinos Unidos program at Fitz. Similarly to Ms. Gunderson, she finds Frederick Douglass’ brilliance and appearance attractive saying, “Douglass, an orator, writer, and abolitionist is attractive because of his unbounded intellect, his literary potency, and his relentless pursuit for racial equality, his piercing gaze, chiseled features, and dominant stature helps too.” As a history teacher, Ms. Gil is bound to fall in love with a man who has significance in history, and it appears that Ms. Gil has the same type as Ms. Gunderson in terms of looks! But unlike Ms. Gunderson, she has a more humble approach. We asked her why she was a bigger fan than Ms. Gunderson and she claimed, “I think there's enough of Douglass' life and literary repertoire to praise, admire, and love between the two of us. He had many fans in his lifetime and it's no surprise that he continues to have many, including an English teacher and a history teacher here at Fitz.” This just shows that Ms. Gil isn’t very protective over Frederick Douglass. She is willing to share him with her competitor! We also asked Ms. Gil how she would react if she met Frederick Douglass in real life and she said, “I would swoon. Once I compose myself I would invite him to a Mexican taqueria. Douglass never had this cuisine in his lifetime. Tacos, en agua fresca, and traditional music playing in the background, as we discuss his life and works. What would be better than that?” Since Frederick Douglass wasn’t able to experience many fun things and experiment with other cultures in his life of slavery and being an orator, Ms. Gil just wants him to have a fun time with his life! Isn’t that just sweet? We asked Ms. Gil what kind of Douglass merch she had and she said, “I have a tote bag with his image from the National Museum of African American History and Culture. I also have a t-shirt from his home in Anacostia as well as a finger puppet magnet.” It is already known that Ms. Gil is a history enthusiast, but does her love for Frederick Douglass compete with the amount of love Ms. Gunderson has for him?

A dispute between two teachers over who the bigger Frederick Douglass fan is definitely was not on anyone’s bingo card for 2024. It isn’t every day that teachers fight over a historical figure in a professional setting. An anonymous 8th grader stated their opinion on this topic and they said, “...I think that it's a funny thing to be fighting over. It is quite random and there are so many more hardworking men who could just be as good as him [Frederick Douglass].” The rivalry between Ms. Gunderson and Ms. Gil has sparked entertainment among students, especially during the month of state testing and benchmark practices. Apparently, Douglass’ impact isn’t just in history, but also at Fitz! Who do you think is the biggest Douglass fan at Fitz?