Welcome to Douglass Day 2021!
February 12, 2021
12 – 2 PM (EST)
February 14, 2021
2 – 3 PM (EST)
*This year’s live programs have now ended. Please join the ongoing transcribing below.*
Watch Douglass Day on YouTube
and
Transcribe Mary Church Terrell’s Papers
Happy Douglass Day!
On Valentine’s Day 2021, we invite you to a virtual birthday for Frederick Douglass. Although he was born enslaved, and never knew his birthdate, he chose to celebrate every year on February 14th. This year, on February 12 and 14, we will celebrate Douglass Day as a collective act of service & celebration of Black history.
Join us online to help transcribe, read, and teach the papers of Mary Church Terrell, a pioneering Black activist and leader. Help us enrich her archives to share with future generations!
Quick Guides
Videos
- Live Stream Program Feb 12 (coming soon)
- Live Stream Program Feb 14 (coming soon)
- Tutorials for Transcribing (coming soon)
Get help with Douglass Day activities
Activities
Schedule
February 12 – Main Event
All times subject to change slightly during the event.
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
- Nettie Washington Douglass
- Ray and Jean Langston
- Dr. Alison Parker, author of Unceasing Militant
- Learn how to transcribe (tutorial)
Activity – 12:45 to 1:15pm
- Time for transcribing, teaching, etc.
- During this time, we’ll leave the live stream running, but will go silent. Try our Spotify playlist!
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
- Time for transcribing, teaching, etc.
- During this time, we’ll leave the live stream running, but will go silent. Try our Spotify playlist!
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 times subject to change slightly during the event.
Live broadcast – 2 to 2:25pm (EST)
- 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
- Time for transcribing, teaching, etc.
- During this time, we’ll leave the live stream running, but will go silent. Try our Spotify playlist!
Live broadcast – 2:45 to 3:00pm
- Highlights and recap from the day
- Announce the last two Bake Off winners
- Closing remarks & reflections
Want to start transcribing?
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 or #GreatDouglassDayBakeoff. You’ll be entered into the GDDBO contest – with special prizes for the crowd favorites! (Don’t use social media? Enter by sending a photo to us by email at douglassdayorg@gmail.com).
Douglass Day 2021 is presented by
The Center for Black Digital Research (DigBlk) at the Pennsylvania State University, the Library of Congress, the Center for Digital Humanities at Princeton University, the Penn State College of the Liberal Arts, the Penn State University Libraries and the large collaborative team listed here.