" Page 382: Generations earlier, [Frederick] Douglas criticized “the error that union among ourselves is an essential element of success in our relations to the white race” and that “if we were only united in one body, under wise and powerful leaders, we could shape the policy of both political parties, make and unmake parties, control the destiny of the republic, and secure for ourselves a desirable and happy future.” Douglass demurred: “I hold that our union is our weakness … When we thus isolate ourselves, we say to those around us: “’We have nothing in common with you,’ and, very naturally, the reply of our neighbors is in the same tone and to the same effect; for when a people care for nobody, nobody will care for them. "
― , The Next American Nation: The New Nationalism and the Fourth American Revolution
![quote : Page 382: Generations earlier, [Frederick] Douglas criticized “the error that union among ourselves is an essential element of success in our relations to the white race” and that “if we were only united in one body, under wise and powerful leaders, we could shape the policy of both political parties, make and unmake parties, control the destiny of the republic, and secure for ourselves a desirable and happy future.” Douglass demurred: “I hold that our union is our weakness … When we thus isolate ourselves, we say to those around us: “’We have nothing in common with you,’ and, very naturally, the reply of our neighbors is in the same tone and to the same effect; for when a people care for nobody, nobody will care for them.](/image/2862431.jpg)