Introduction by Thomas Dublin and Kathryn Kish Sklar. Sometimes they were real friends, such as when they first met; at other times, they were estranged co-activists in a shared cause, presenting a united front solely for practical, political reasons. Corinthian Hall / Academy of Music‘, The Freethought Trail website. Anna Douglass remained a loyal supporter of her husband's public work, even though Douglass' relationships with Julia Griffiths and Ottilie Assing, two … May 22, … Anna Murray-Douglass, Douglass’s first wife. History of the Federal Judiciary: The Trial of Susan B. Anthony- Biographies-Other indicted voters, Lights and Shadows in Local Negro History, Recognition For a Forgotten Frederick Douglass Site, Frederick Douglass Home on Alexander Street, Report of the Woman’s Rights Convention, 1848, Austin Steward: A Forgotten Figure in Abolitionist Movement, Frederick Douglass Rochester NY Sites, Day 1, according to the Freethought Trail website, National Convention of Colored Men in Rochester, first edition lists the Talman building address, much to the ever-respectable, ever-private Anna Douglass’ dismay, 30. Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey; c. February 1817 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman.After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, becoming famous for his oratory and incisive antislavery writings. I enter the front door and am assisted by a helpful lady in the front office to the right. Just a little farther north at 297 Alexander St, close enough for little Rosetta to have walked to Seward Seminary without breaking a sweat, there’s now a parking lot next to a restaurant simply called ‘Mex’. What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? Frederick Douglass It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. But it wasn’t all work and no play for Frederick Douglass, even with all his writing, speaking, campaigning for justice for his children, and aiding fugitives from slavery. Pitts was hired by Douglas directly to work with him at the office of the Recorder of Deeds. Despite enduring several cruel slaveholders, Douglass remained defiant. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. This book came from the oldest and only daughter who lived to adulthood, so it conveyed intimacy, not just facts.” Reviewers are intrigued. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. A woman taught him to read, a woman helped him escape slavery, women managed his household while he worked, women collaborated with him in the antislavery and women’s movements, and women inspired him with their own accomplishments. Morry, Emily. Smith, Marcus. Paganini’s Violin at the Municipal Palace in Genoa, image public domain via Project Gutenberg. ‘Death of Frederick Douglass‘. *Listen to the podcast version here or subscribe on iTunes. Using data collected through her extensive research, she was able to paint a picture of the plight of the African-American with undeniable numbers and facts. Since the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, even the northern states had become too dangerous for escaped slaves to remain in, so many chose to press farther north in their quest for freedom. He continued to advocate equal […] We’ll be talking about Anna Douglass, about whom I believe too little is known, and most historical presentations of her range from woefully incomplete to inaccurate and even unfair. The man who was probably the most well-known African American of the 18th century is a topic of a bunch of exhibits at the new Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Rosetta Douglass . — The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. Frederick Douglass on Righteous Indignation, Black Perspectives: Blog of the African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS), Institute for Philosophy in Public Life (IPPL), Seventh Day in Paris Following Thomas Paine, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Thomas Jefferson, Rudolf Steiner’s First Address | TheLiteraryArts in Fair Oaks, The Revolutionary Figure of the Beautiful, Self-Improved Soul, by Justine Kolata, America’s First Black Doctor Sought to Recover a Country’s Consistent Disease | History – Read It Once, America’s First Black Physician Sought to Heal a Nation’s Persistent Illness | History – Chronicles 247, Follow Ordinary Philosophy on WordPress.com. "The 100 best nonfiction books: No 68 - Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass (1845)" by Robert McCrum, www.theguardian.com. Fought is doing significant work in righting this with her upcoming book about the women in the life of Frederick Douglass, the most significant of which, of course, is Anna. Find out more about Ms. 26, No. At first, she lived with the Douglass family; later on, she moved to her own place, as the rumor mill never stopped grinding out malicious gossip, much to the ever-respectable, ever-private Anna Douglass’ dismay. ( Log Out / It took some time for the Douglasses to find a house to buy in Rochester; Douglass’ family had followed him here in February and boarded until a local abolitionist sold them the 9 room brick house that once stood on this spot. The 1851 map was a little behind the times: Corinthian Hall and Exchange Place had already received their new names in 1850, but the map retains their original designations. Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. Ah, early spring in northern New York! The fine raindrops pepper my face like icy Lilliputian buckshot as I take photos of the front of the historical marker and the school. Frederick, whom she called “my valentine,” was transferred to the Wye Plantation to live with his grandmother, giving Bailey more time to work in the fields. Besides the fact that his good friends Amy and Isaac Post lived here, that it was an important stop on the Underground Railroad, and that it was a center for the feminist movement where the Post’s and his (then) friend Susan B. Anthony lived, Douglass listed all manner of other reasons for his move to Rochester in his autobiography Life and Times. This is part of a year-long collaboration between Open Mic Rochester and CITY Newspaper. At bottom left is the first Irish printing of Douglass’ Narrative, published by abolitionist Richard Webb, with a frontispiece portrait signed ‘B. Any support you can offer will be deeply appreciated! To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy — a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. Best known for her anti-lynching activism, Wells was also a pioneer of black investigative journalism. Helen Pitts Douglass, Douglass’s second wife. So began Rosetta Douglass Sprague, daughter of Anna and Frederick Douglass, in a speech delivered in 1900 that later became the book My Mother As … Although her family were well-known abolitionists, they disapproved of her marriage because of Douglass’s mixed lineage. ‘The Musical Douglasses: Rosetta‘. An experienced abolitionist and co-editor of feminist newspaper The Alpha, she used her expertise to assist Douglas as he authored his third autobiography, “Life and Times of Frederick Douglass.”. ‘27. Douglass’s Life This February marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of a truly great American, Mr. Frederick Douglass. R. ochester was one of the last way stations on the way to Canada. Frederick Douglass items in Strike for Freedom exhibit, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2018. Though this was not the end of her work with Douglass, she went on to form the National Woman’s Suffrage Association with Stanton and her supporters. From the Rochester History Journal, Oct 1864, Vol. It’s now the Hochstein Music School. In his, View ordinaryphilosophy’s profile on Facebook, View ordinaryphilosophy’s profile on Instagram, View amycools/ordinary-philosophy’s profile on Pinterest, View UCSMZN1e0uc9XsET-liJKDqA’s profile on YouTube, View 104522315164143984354’s profile on Google+, Frederick Douglass in Edinburgh, Scotland, Part 1: Strike for Freedom Exhibit at the National Library of Scotland, Strike for Freedom exhibit at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland. This was a century before Brown vs. Board of Education! Anna Murray Douglass, My Mother As I Recall Her, After years of effort, School 12 could get a Douglass name change. This house was accumulating a large library for the literary Douglass, and as you may, remember, he loved to play the violin. Eventually his son Frederick Douglass Jr. becomes an army recruiter also. Here we take a look at some of the individuals who played important roles in his life. But his presence and prominence helped . See more ideas about history, african american history, black history. her son (by an unknown man): Frederick Douglass. As I suspect might be the case, the house is closed to the public today so I’ll return tomorrow; I head here first anyway to scope things out in person because, as it turns out, I have more free time to explore Rochester this morning than I thought I would. Talman Building, across from the Reynolds Arcade at 25 E Main St (formerly 25 Buffalo St), Rochester NY, where Douglass published the North Star, Lobby of the Talman Building. ‘Colored National Convention (1853 : Rochester, NY), “Proceedings of the Colored National Convention, Held in Rochester, July 6th, 7th, and 8th, 1853.,” ColoredConventions.org. ( Log Out / Famous quotes by Frederick Douglass A battle lost or won is easily described, understood, and appreciated, but the moral growth of a great nation requires reflection, as well as observation, to appreciate it. However, I discover that these two pieces of received internet wisdom appear to be a bit off. This is where the pressing problem of lack of unification between various factions of the antislavery movement were identified and discussed, as well as the relative lack of black leadership. Though this Rochester convention still failed to bring about a unified black political movement, like the previous one in Troy discussed in an earlier account, it sent a powerful message that all black Americans had a powerful champion in Douglass. By 1850, Douglass had became the leader of Rochester’s Underground Railroad, which was among the work he was most proud of, and this house became one of the most important stops. This speech was Douglass’ Gettysburg Address, his Second Inaugural, his ‘To Be or Not to Be?’, where his powers of oratory and his eloquence were in full force. Rosetta Douglass (1839-1906) married Nathan Sprague Frederick Douglass's seven grandchildren: the Spragues Annie Rosine Sprague Norris Harriet Bailey Sprague Alice Louise Sprague Estelle Irene Sprague Weaver Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry Herbert Douglass Sprague Rosebelle Mary … No one else had written about Anna Murray Douglass as a multi-dimensional human being. In some cases, it’s many women bolstering the great man, whether they are mothers, sisters, wives, daughters, colleagues, or friends — and throughout history few of them have been properly credited for their roles. 1898. Colored National Convention (1853 : Rochester, NY), “Proceedings of the Colored National Convention, Held in Rochester, July 6th, 7th, and 8th, 1853. Ms. Frederick Douglass. He learned to read at a young age, and, with the help of Anna Murray, liberated himself from slavery in 1838. Women in the World of Frederick Douglass by Leigh Fought (Oxford University Press, 2017); contains a great deal of new information on Anna Murray Douglass and debunks the myth that Frederick Douglass had a romantic relationship with German journalist Ottilie Assing. ‘Frederick Douglass Home on Alexander Street’ and ‘Talman Building‘, Democrat & Chronicle: Retrofitting Rochester series, ‘The North Star: Abolitionist Newspaper Founded By Frederick Douglass‘, Maryland State Archives (website). Her family home was located next door to Cedar Hill, the home of Frederick Douglas, and she soon began supporting his work as a clerk in his office. Born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey in 1818, Douglass did not know his real birthday, because he was born into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland. Charleston: The History Press, 2013. Despite her role in his life and their 44-year-long marriage, Murray-Douglass was barely mentioned in Douglass’s three autobiographies. Rosa O’Keefe, on page 29 of her 2013 book Frederick and Anna Douglass in Rochester, New York, writes that the first edition was printed in the basement of the A.M.E. Zion church (a site we’ll return to in my next account); however, the first edition lists the Talman building address as its place of publication on the upper left-hand corner. He became the leader of the abolitionist movement that tried before and during the civil war to end the practice of slavery. ‘[Rochester] …is the center of a virtuous, intelligent, enterprising, liberal, and growing population… It is on the line of the New York Central railroad – a line that, with its connections, spans the whole country. Further reading. I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. Frederick and Anna Douglass in Rochester, New York: Their Home Was Open to All. Douglass saw her only a handful of times before her death. In fact, he ‘lectured [there] every Sunday evening during an entire winter’ as he wrote in his Life and Times. Jan 18, 2016 - Douglass and Anna had five children: Rosetta Douglass, Lewis Henry Douglass, Frederick Douglass, Jr., Charles Remond Douglass, and Annie Douglass (died at the age of ten). The building was torn down in 1954. At the end, he includes a satire of a hymn "said to have been drawn, several years before the present anti-slavery agitation … Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Pitts, nevertheless, would prove to be most influential at establishing the Frederick Douglass home and maintaining the legacy of Douglass after his death.. Helen Pitts Douglass. Though Douglass’ campaign here was successful, the principle that all children should receive fair and equal treatment in America’s schools was not to be enshrined in law in most of the United States for over a century. Amy and Isaac Post Historical Plaque at 50 Plymouth St, Rochester NY. ~ With special thanks to Paige Sloan, who heads and teaches a writing program for international students at the University of Rochester and, like me, is a big Fredrick Douglass fan! Wells died in Chicago at age 68 on March 25, 1931. Our latest collection of Frederick Douglass quotes that will inspire you to stand for what you believe in. In his vigorous expose of the injustice and harm in such undignified treatment of children, Douglass’ campaign to integrate the public schools in Rochester was ultimately successful: the public schools were integrated in 1857. Between the Douglass … At least one occasion in 1850, he played an impromptu concert for the neighborhood children here in this house. ‘Plan of the City of Rochester, N.Y. [Southwest Quadrant]‘ and ‘Southeast Quadrant‘, 1851. He condemns the hypocrisy in southern Christianity between what is taught and the actions of the slaveowners who practice it. Hooray! ( Log Out / There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour.’. There’s nothing indicating this as the site where the Douglass family moved, to their first house here in Rochester in. ... Rosetta. He confronted Tracy, who tried to evade responsibility by putting it to a student vote: who would object if Rosetta would sit next to them? Douglass was not the only fugitive to go from a life in New Bedford to antislavery activism. Music was very important to the Douglasses: Rosetta would accompany her father on the piano, and Douglass’ love of the violin would continue on in his progeny, which we’ll return to in a later account. Feb. 21, 1895 obituary, reprinted in the New York Times: On This Day, Douglass, Frederick. ‘Quaker Influence‘, National Historical Park New York page of the National Park Service website, ‘Seward Seminary‘ – New York Historical Markers on Waymarking.com. She would periodically travel the 12 miles after working the Holmes Hill Farm to see her young son, and she was still required to be back for work the following morning. ‘Austin Steward: A Forgotten Figure in Abolitionist Movement‘. Frederick Douglass Newspaper Office‘, The Freethought Trail website, ‘30. Then he pours out his lament: ‘I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! After graduating in 1859 from the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (now Mount Holyoke College), she taught at the Hampton Institute in Virginia before moving to Washington, DC. E. Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, abolitionist, writer, and orator whose work helped educate people about the horrors of slavery and helped move the abolitionist movement forward. Between the Douglass legacy and that of Booker T. Washington, I sometimes pinch myself. Frederick Douglass’s Women: In Progress blog, ‘“Let’s Have Tea” by Pepsy M. Kettavong‘, Rochester Public Art Catalog (website).