Douglass Day at Penn State Campuses

Save the Date for Douglass Day on February 14, 2024.

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

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

Abington

  • Location: Abington College Library
  • Contact: Brendan Johnson
  • Date: February 14, 2024
  • Time: 12-2 PM

Altoona

  • Location: Eiche Library
  • Contact: Jacob Gordon
  • Date: February 14, 2024
  • Time: 12-3 PM

Berks

  • Location: Thun Library
  • Contact: Melissa Millar
  • Date: February 14, 2024
  • Time: 12-3 PM

Fayette

  • Location: Fayette Campus Library
  • Contact: Emma Beaver
  • Date: February 14, 2024
  • Time: 12-3 PM
  • Twitter: @psu_fayette
  • Instagram: @psufelib

Greater Allegheny

  • Location: Kelly Library
  • Contact: Andrew Marhsall
  • Date: February 14, 2024
  • Time: 12-3 PM

Hershey

  • Location: Harrell Health Sciences Library
  • Contact: Benjamin D. Hoover
  • Date: February 14, 2024
  • Time: 12-3 PM

Great Valley

  • Location: Great Valley Library
  • Contact: Billie Walker
  • Date: February 14, 2024
  • Time: 12-3 PM

Schuylkill

  • Location: Ciletti Memorial Library, Main Floor
  • Contact: Rosanne Marie Chesakis
  • Date: February 14, 2024
  • Time: 12-3 PM

University Park


Want to join on a later time or day?

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. (The crowdsourcing website will go live at 9 am EST). 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 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 Letters of Frederick Douglass

This year’s featured project is a new, online crowdsourcing project that will allow us to more fully rediscover the life and writings of Frederick Douglass. To learn more, please see our pages on How to Transcribe, about Frederick Douglass, or our pages for K-12 + College Curriculum.

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

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 continue the new tradition of our annual cake contest. Make your best cakes and desserts to celebrate Douglass. Post photos of your creations using the hashtag #DouglassDay on Twitter and Instagram to enter our contest!


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