Douglass Day at Penn State Campuses

Flyer to save the date for Douglass Day on February 14, 2023 from 12pm to 3pm EST. The flyer shows a black and white photo of Mary Ann Shadd Cary and has a tag line that reads "Featuring the papers of Mary Ann Shadd Cary"

About Douglass Day

Every Valentine’s Day, we invite you to a birthday party for Frederick Douglass. Although Douglass never knew his birthdate, he chose to celebrate every year on February 14th. We celebrate this date as a moment for creating Black history together. Douglass Day is presented by a handful of collaborating organizations, and hosted by the Center for Black Digital Research.

How can I get involved?

  1. Host an event of your own (see our organizing kit for lots of resources)
  2. Join an event at one of the Penn State campuses (see below)
  3. Bring Douglass Day to your class (see our teaching page)
  4. Join us online from wherever you are

Penn State Campus Events

Abington

  • Location: Abington College Library
  • Contact: Brendan Johnson
  • Date: February 14, 2023
  • Time: 12-3 PM

Altoona

  • Location: Eiche Library
  • Contact: Jacob Gordon
  • Date: February 14, 2023
  • Time: 12-3 PM

Berks

  • Location: Thun Library
  • Contact: Melissa Millar
  • Date: February 14, 2023
  • Time: 12-3 PM
  • Presented by Thun Library & the Berks Black Student Union

Brandywine

  • Location: Vairo Library
  • Contact: Teresa Slobuski
  • Date: February 14, 2023
  • Time: 12-4 PM
  • Instagram: @vairolibrarypsu

Fayette

  • Location: Fayette Campus Library
  • Contact: Emma Beaver
  • Date: February 14, 2023
  • Time: 12-3 PM
  • Twitter: @psu_fayette
  • Instagram: @psufelib

Great Valley

  • Location: Great Valley Library
  • Contact: Nikki Gilliam & Billie Walker
  • Date: February 14, 2023
  • Time: 12-3 PM

University Park

Don’t see your campus? Sign up today — or join us on YouTube on February 14th!

Need to schedule a later event?

No problem! We have plenty of transcribing work to go around. The crowdsourcing project, the livestream video, and all of our materials will be available online starting on February 14th. Everything will remain online until we’re done with all of the transcribing. It’s difficult to predict when that will be, so we will ask your group leader to check the Zooniverse site the night prior to your later meetings. If you aren’t sure, please email the Douglass Day team at douglassdayorg AT gmail DOT com.

About the Papers of Mary Ann Shadd Cary

This year’s featured project is a new, online crowdsourcing project that will allow us to more fully rediscover the life and writings of Mary Ann Shadd Cary, a lawyer, journalist, and activist for civil rights in the United States and Canada. This project is a celebration of Mary Ann Shadd Cary’s 200th birthday in 2023!

The transcribing project will be on the non-profit platform, Zooniverse.org. Stay tuned!

3rd Annual Douglass Day Bake Off

Photo of a birthday cake being cut. The birthday cake has a small image of Frederick Douglass on top.

This year we are delighted to announce our third annual cake contest. Make your best cakes and desserts to celebrate Douglass and the women of the Colored Conventions. Post photos of your creations using the hashtag #DouglassDay on Twitter and Instagram to enter our contest!

Follow us on social media