Question

Tokenism is the practice of making a symbolic gesture toward a goal, such as eliminating slavery, but not actually fulfilling that goal. Why does Douglass view his invitation to speak on the Fourth of July as an act of Tokenism?

Answer 1

Frederick Douglass claimed that his invitation to speak at the Fourth of July Convention was a mere portrayal of tokenism, due to the fact that the people who invited him did not inherently care about the treatment or equality of African Americans in the country, but rather were trying to appease him into thinking so.