It is a collective day of love & action for Black history!

Douglass Day is an annual program that marks the birth of Frederick Douglass. Each year, we gather thousands of people to help create new & freely available resources for learning about Black history. In the past we have transcribed the Freedman's Bureau papers (2018) and the Colored Conventions (2022). We frequently focus on important Black women’s archives, such as Anna Julia Cooper (2020), Mary Church Terrell (2021), Mary Ann Shadd Cary (2023), and the correspondence of Frederick Douglass himself (2024)! This year's theme - Black Archives, Duly Represented! - features a transcribe-a-thon of the African American Perspectives Collection at the Library of Congress. Learn more about the history of Douglass Day and register to receive the Douglass Day newsletter.

What's in store this year?

Black Archives, Duly Represented!

We are hosting a Douglass Day celebration on Friday, February 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will take place in person on the Ely Library mezzanine level. You are encouraged to pop in at any time during the three hours. This year's celebration includes a  transcribe-a-thon featuring the African American Perspectives Collection at the Library of Congress! The transcribe-a-thon is a crowdsourcing project focused on transcribing documents in a digital archive in order to make them widely available.

During the event, we will share a livestream of speakers and performers from noon to 12:30, 1 to 1:30, and 2:45 to 3:00 (with really great music from the Douglass Day Spotify playlist in between). We will also be available to answer any questions you might have about transcribing documents on the By the People platform. We encourage participants to share their discoveries on social media using #DouglassDay.

You can also bring Douglass Day into your college classroom with these resources. The library has more supporting resources available and many can be found in our Douglass Day virtual display.

Also, anyone who likes to bake should feel welcome to participate in the Great Douglass Day Bakeoff.  Bake a birthday cake in honor of Frederick Douglass and post it on social media using #GreatDouglassDayBakeoff; judging will take place at 2:45 p.m.

And don't forget to include us in your social media posts as well!
Instagram: @wsu_elylibrary

The event is co-sponsored by the Ely Library, the History & Philosophy Department, and Belonging, Inclusion, & Learning.

Below we offer some sources to learn more about Frederick Douglass: 

• Frederick Douglass timeline (Library of Congress)
• Frederick Douglass correspondence (Library of Congress)
• Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches (Films on Demand)
• Ely Library virtual Douglass Day displays