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Organizing Kit 2021

Don’t forget to check out our Outreach Guide & page on past Douglass Days! Questions or suggestions? Contact us at douglassdayorg@gmail.com.

Please don’t forget to consult our list of principles to guide Douglass Day.


How is the virtual event going to work?

Watch the live broadcast on YouTube

Following past years, we are going to have a live broadcast program on February 12 (12-2pm EST) and February 14 (2-3pm EST). We are going to feature a great lineup of speakers and offer a helpful tutorial on transcribing with the Library of Congress platform, By the People. The live broadcast will appear on YouTube and Periscope.

Local organizers watch & share your screen in a local Zoom/Webex videoconference room

  1. Organize a Zoom/Webex zoom (or use other videoconference software)
  2. Share the link or invitation with everyone who will attend your event
  3. Watch the live program in your browser
  4. Share your screen with your Zoom/Webex
  5. Stop sharing your screen during transcribing time

Alternating between the live program or to the transcribing activity.

We will run the live program for about 30 minutes, followed by time for transcribing. (We also recommend splitting people into breakout rooms to have space to chat while we transcribe together in virtual community.)

Comments? Questions? Not sure about the process? Please don’t hesitate to contact us at douglassdayorg@gmail.com. And remember that we are offering a live demo on Friday, February 5th.

Creating community in a time of social distancing

Mostly, we’re going to hold on to many of the classic Douglass Day activities. We’ll transcribe in groups. We’ll sing together. We’ll share our cool finds on social media. We’ll have stickers & lots of fun swag. Let’s see if we can’t find new ways to build some community around a virtual event during this difficult this year. Please join us!

Want more info & resources on holding your transcribe-a-thon? Check out our page on Transcribing in 2021.


Two days for Douglass Day 2021

*A quick note about the change in formats & days: We are going to celebrate Douglass Day on February 14, 2021. But, we recognize that Douglass Day falling on a Sunday raises a challenge for people who want to bring virtual celebrations to their group, school, or office. We are going to split the program this year into a pair of events on Friday, February 12 & Sunday, February 14.

Both Friday and Sunday, we’ll have a live broadcast on YouTube with speakers and readings. We’ll also provide time for transcribing & discussions among our virtual groups. Our teams will be ready to talk with people in your groups over Twitter & Instagram using #DouglassDay. Don’t forget to follow us @DouglassDayorg.

If you have questions about the format, timing, or other logistic concerns, please do not hesitate to write us at DouglassDayorg@gmail.com.


Plan your local event

December – January

  1. Arrange for a virtual Zoom/Webex/etc. room for your group
  2. Choose your activities below. 
  3. Use our guides & templates
  4. Make some noise before February 14th!

Early February

  1. Order a birthday cake for Frederick Douglass. Bonus points for Black-owned bakeries – or join the Great Douglass Day Bake Off!
  2. Post notices on social media & send local e-mail invitations.

Guides & templates

Outreach Guide

Graphic design & flyer template

Press release template

Guide & resources for transcribing


Schedules

(All times Eastern Standard)


February 5 – Live Demo

12-1 pm (EST) Zoom Webinar (will be posted later on our YouTube channel)

This informal session provides a preview of Douglass Day and tutorials on the By The People platform, plus plenty of time for Q&A.

(Click to view the preview session on our YouTube channel)


February 12 – Main Event

All events will be airing on our YouTube channel. We will post a direct link on our home page shortly before the event begins. Times are in EST.

Live broadcast – 12 to 12:45pm (EST)

  • Welcome & introductions
  • “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (Soul Sistas)
  • Overview of the program
  • Speakers on Douglass and Terrell
  • Learn how to transcribe

Activity – 12:45 to 1:15pm

Live broadcast – 1:15 to 1:45pm

  • Speakers on Douglass & Terrell
    • Dr. Lopez Matthews, Ken Grossi & Adrienne Cannon
    • President Carmen Ambar (Oberlin College)
    • President Glenda Glover, Ph.D, JD, CPA (AKA)
    • President Beverly Evans Smith (Deltas)
    • Andrea Brooks-Smith (NACWC)
    • Louis Davis (AARP-DC)
    • Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton
  • Sing “Happy birthday” (Dr. Clay Colmon)
  • Highlights and recap from the day
  • Closing remarks & reflections

Activity – 1:45 to 1:55pm

Live broadcast – 1:55 to 2pm

  • Sing “Happy birthday” (Dr. Clay Colmon)
  • Highlights and recap from the day
  • Closing remarks & reflections

February 14 – Main Event

All events will be airing on our YouTube channel. We will post a direct link on our home page shortly before the event begins. Times are in EST.

Live broadcast – 2 to 2:25pm

  • Welcome & introductions
  • Sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (lyrics)
  • Overview for the Douglass Day 2021 program
  • Sing “Happy birthday”
  • Speakers on Douglass and Terrell

Activity – 2:25 to 2:45pm

Live broadcast – 2:45 to 3:00pm

  • Highlights and recap from the day
  • Announce the last two Bake Off winners
  • Closing remarks & reflections


Transcribe the papers of Mary Church Terrell

We will be working together on the By The People Platform at the Library of Congress. Our partners at the LOC have arranged to post the last major part of Terrell’s archive that has not yet been transcribed. Together, we’ll transcribe her “Miscellany” collection.

*Note: the MCT Miscellany materials to transcribe will be posted shortly before our event & runs ~4800 total pages.)

Mary Church Terrell: Advocate for African Americans and Women

From By The People: Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954) educator, women’s rights advocate, and civil rights activist, was the founding president of the National Association of Colored Women and, in 1909, a founder of the NAACP. Her papers are part of the “Suffrage: Women Fight for the Vote” topical campaign, which brings together stories from women on the front lines of the largest reform movement in American history. Transcribing these pages will allow you to explore the long struggle for equality through the diaries, letters, and speeches of the women who fought for the right to vote and changed political history 100 years ago.

Tutorials for transcribing

No experience is needed to join the transcribing!

Learn more: Transcribe 2021

We will post video tutorials, written instructions, and more to help everyone learn how to transcribe on By the People. Eager to get started? Hop on over to By The People – crowd.loc.gov today and try your hand on their other campaigns!


Teach with Douglass Day

We think Douglass Day is a great opportunity to bring new voices into the classroom for Black History Month. Your students can help transcribe. We’ll also have lesson plans, reading guides, writing prompts, and more. For updates & alerts please register for updates.


Design for stickers with the portrait of Frederick Douglass

Order Douglass Day Swag

(After 2/1/2021, we suggest paying for expedited shipping to ensure the stickers arrive in time.)

All of our designs are free to use on our Flyers & Graphic Design page. Create away — and share it with us too!

*Note: since everyone is not able to gather in large, in-person groups this year, we decided to share the designs here. (Normally these stickers require a minimum order size of ~50+).

Browse all of the Douglass Day 2021 graphic designs & images

2021 Designs include:

  1. Douglass portrait sticker orders: https://bit.ly/2S5Keou
  2. Terrell sticker #1: “Lifting as we climb”
  3. Terrell sticker #2: Our possibilities for good in the future are unlimited”
  4. Terrell sticker #3: I have never stopped trying to get what I knew was just and right”


Hints for Event Organizers

Before

Making noise about Douglass Day in your area might mean posting lots on social media, contacting local/student journalists, or even writing or calling community groups, churches and more. 

Share Douglass Day with local print, radio & TV outlets: We are delighted to provide a press release template and media advisory/backgrounder. See: Communications, press release & media kit.

If your school or organization has a communications office, contact them to share your event. Communications staff can help you plan for outreach on social media, crafting your press release, and much more. Contact them early. Often, communications folks have contacts in local media who might love to cover your event. And perhaps your organization might like to feature Douglass Day on their social media accounts, newsletters, or student papers. 

Order or create Douglass Day swag: We are currently making arrangements with a vendor for stickers & postcards. We will update you when these are ready to order. Stickers and other bits of swag can make for so much fun! (We hear some groups are making matching t-shirts this year too!)

During

Social media: Share what you find or learn on Douglass Day on Twitter & Instagram using #DouglassDay. We encourage everyone to ask questions, share cool phrases/snippets, or make comments on social media. Folks from the Colored Conventions Project will be available to chat on Twitter and Instagram. Our social media team will share any cool finds on the video live stream. We want to hear everyone’s voices! We also love to see great photos of Black history & preservation in action.

Lyrics for “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (abridged) are available on this page.

After

Please keep a tally of participation: Please keep a tally of the number of people who participate in your group. After February 14, we will write to ask for your feedback. Any information or feedback you can provide will help us apply for more resources to support future Douglass Days, so our big thanks in advance.

Douglass Day 2022 + beyond! Our annual celebration of Frederick Douglass’s birthday and Black History Month will continue in 2023 and beyond. We will have details about next year’s Douglass Day in Spring/Summer 2021. (Hint: we’ll be featuring the Colored Conventions Project once again!)


Great Douglass Day Bake Off

We can’t share cakes in person, but we can still share them online! Make your best cakes & desserts and post them on Twitter or Instagram using #DouglassDay. You’ll be entered into the GDDBO contest – with special prizes for our top five favorites!  


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