Welcome to Douglass Day 2023!

Circular image with a watercolor portrait of Mary Ann Shadd Cary holding a newspaper. The ring of the image says "Why Not Go Farther?" on top and "DouglassDay.org" on the bottom.

Re-watch the Livestream on YouTube

And stay tuned for the Fall 2023 phase of

Transcribe Shadd Cary on Zooniverse

Happy Douglass Day!

On Valentine’s Day 2023, we are throwing a birthday party for Frederick Douglass. All are invited!

Although Douglass never knew his birth date, he chose to celebrate every year on February 14th. We mark this day with a collective action that serves & celebrates Black history.

This year we are celebrating the 200th birthday of Mary Ann Shadd Cary!

Transcribing

Learn More

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Resources

Schedule – February 14 from 12-3 PM (EST)

The livestreamed program will be on our YouTube channel.

Live broadcast – 12:00 to 12:30pm

  • Welcome & introductions
  • Sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (lyrics)
  • Overview for the Douglass Day program
  • Speakers on Douglass & Shadd Cary

Transcribing – 12:30 to 1:00pm

  • Time for transcribing, readings, discussions, etc.
  • During this time, we’ll leave the live stream running, but will go silent.
  • Try our Spotify playlist!

Live broadcast – 1:00 to 1:30pm

  • Sing “Happy birthday”
  • A dramatic reading of “Why Hold a Colored Convention?” by Hassan El-Amin

Transcribing – 1:30 to 2:00pm

  • Time for transcribing, readings, discussions, etc.
  • During this time, we’ll leave the live stream running, but will go silent.
  • Try our Spotify playlist!

Live broadcast – 2:00 to 2:20pm

  • Mary Ann Shadd Cary at 200: A Panel Discussion, moderated by Kristin Moriah and Denise Burgher, joined by esteemed guests

Transcribing – 2:20 to 2:45pm

  • Time for transcribing, readings, discussions, 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 from social media
  • Bake Off Prizes
  • Closing Reflections

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 the crowd favorites! (Don’t use social media? Enter by sending a photo to us by email at douglassdayorg@gmail.com).

Acknowledgements

Douglass Day 2023 is presented by

The Center for Black Digital Research (DigBlk) at the Pennsylvania State University along with the Penn State College of the Liberal Arts, the Penn State University Libraries, and our team.

Douglass Day 2023 has been made possible by

  • The Archives of Ontario
  • Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University
  • The Amistad Research Center
  • Libraries and Archives Canada
  • Chronicling America

With special thanks to Zooniverse.org!

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