Douglass Day: A National Black History Community Event at Penn Libraries – Feb 14

Posted by University of Pennsylvania Library on February 8, 2022

Douglass Day is a celebration of 19th-century Black achievement held annually on February 14, the day Frederick Douglass chose to celebrate his birthday. Each year communities gather at universities and colleges across the country to transcribe letters, news coverages and other documents related to the Colored Conventions Movement. This year, our focus will be to transcribe the activities of Black Women in the Colored Conventions Project.

There will be a live broadcast from Douglass Day YouTube channel with singing, Black history lectures and highlights from the Douglass Day Birthday Bake-off. This event will feature photographs, books & memorabilia of influential 19th -century Black women activists, prominent Black women Penn alumni and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority from the University Archives. A special display of 19th Black activist newspapers, books and materials from the Kislak Center will also be a part of this event.

Please join us at Penn Libraries, in the Class of 78 Pavilion in the Kislak Center on February 14th from 12 pm to 3 pm, to help make these documents accessible online while gathering with the community and enjoying music.

This is an in-person & virtual event. Organizers will send a Zoom link for the virtual program one-day before the event.

Here is a video of the Douglass Day event at Howard University if you’re interested in checking out an example of a Douglass Day event.

Learn more and register.