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Douglass Day 2017

This event was in 2017. See the most current Douglass Day page: coloredconventions.org/hbd.

A Birthday Party for Frederick Douglass &
Transcribe-a-thon for Black History Month
February 14, 2017  12-2pm

Registration now at capacity | Event flyer (pdf)

ABOUT: This Valentine's Day, the CCP invites you to a birthday party for Frederick Douglass. Although Douglass was born into bondage, and never knew his birthdate, he chose to celebrate every year on February 14. In a spirit of radical love, this year we will commemorate his birthday and Black History Month with a transcribe-a-thon.

As students, faculty, staff and community members, we will gather to transcribe the minutes of the 19th-century Colored Conventions. We'll get to work at the University of Delaware and sites around the country. We'll have some birthday cake, singing, and feature a dramatic reading of Douglass' speech from the 1883 national Colored Convention. The event will be streamed online and CCP members will be available to talk with you on Facebook and Twitter. Let's preserve the longer history of Black activism together.

How you can get involved:

(1) Watch and comment on the live stream video appearing on the CCP Facebook page. Or, we hope you will join the conversation on Twitter with hashtags #FrederickDouglassDay and @CCP_org. 

(2) View the Douglass Party Organizing Toolkit 2017.

Details for events at:

Bentley University

Boston University

Brown University

Loyola University Chicago

Loyola University Maryland

Northeastern

University of Delaware

University of Southern Maine

Winterthur

Details for everyone else joining us online coming soon!

About Transcribe Minutes: 

How does Transcribe Minutes work? A tutorial with pictures. (Hi-res version) 

To date, Transcribe Minutes has grown thanks to 941 transcribers making 18,366 revisions to 2,427 pages. Together we have made 88 Colored Conventions fully searchable, and vastly easier to read and share. We are approximately 70% of the way toward transcribing the surviving records of the Colored Conventions. Collective action works!

Welcome to Transcribe Minutes

Quickstart guide & Detailed instructions 

Transcribe-a-thon at the University of Delaware

Transcribe Minutes page for UD and the CCP

Where: UD Library, room 114

When: 12-2pm

Birthday cake and soft drinks will be served. Please bring a student or government-issued ID for entrance into the UD Library. 

Parking: The closest paid parking lots are located at:

Visitors Center (Lot #41) at 190 S. College Avenue, Newark, DE.

Trabant Garage (Lot #17C) at 19 Main Street, Newark, DE. 

Transcribe-a-thon at Bentley University 

Transcribe Minutes page for Bentley University

Where: Research Instruction Center (RIC), Room 11, library lower level

When: 12-2pm, additional drop-in hours 2-4pm

Snacks provided!

Transcribe-a-thon at Boston University (Local event link)

Transcribe Minutes page for Boston University

Where: tba

When: tba

Transcribe-a-thon at Brown University (Local event link)

Transcribe Minutes page for Brown University

Where: Nightingale-Brown House, Brown University (357 Benefit Street)

Transcribe-a-thon at Loyola University Chicago

Transcribe Minutes page for Loyola Univ. Chicago

Where: Information Commons, 4th Floor

When: 11am-1pm (CST)

Sponsored by the Center for Textual Studies and Digital Humanities, African Studies and the African Diaspora, English Department, History Department, the Joseph A. Gagliano Chair in American Urban History, and the Loyola University Libraries.