Douglass Day, held annually on Feb. 14, is a program that marks the birth of Frederick Douglass by creating Black history together.
ALTOONA, Pa. — Although Frederick Douglass never knew his birthdate, he chose to celebrate every year on Feb. 14. Douglass Day is an annual program that marks his birth by creating Black history together.
Each year, thousands of people gather to help create new and free resources for learning about Black history through transcribe-a-thons, which are events in which people gather to work side-by-side on a crowdsourcing transcription project.
This year, the papers of Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823-93) will be transcribed and enriched. She was one of the earliest Black women to edit a newspaper, serve as a Civil War recruiter, and attend law school.
Penn State Altoona’s transcribe-a-thon will take place from noon to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 14, in the Eiche Library. For more information, contact Jacob Gordon at [email protected].
Douglass Day is presented by several collaborating organizations and hosted by the Center for Black Digital Research.
