"Without a struggle, there can be no progress.” - Frederick Douglass

Participate in a birthday celebration for Frederick Douglass, who was one of the most prominent Black thinkers and anti-slavery advocates in American history. The celebration focuses on food, joy, and action, oriented around a transcribe-a-thon that brings together thousands of participants at more than 100 simultaneous events around the world. 

Students, teachers, and community members will help to transcribe the African American Perspective Collection at the Library of Congress. This collection offers a wide-ranging look at Black history and culture through prominent figures like Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and Booker T. Washington. It has been digitized and will be made available through collaborations with the Library of Congress and the By the People platform.

The transcribe-a-thon will be streamed live on YouTube in the DSL Flexspace and Classroom. The transcribing will be done on Crowd.loc.gov, a citizen science platform led by the Library of Congress. Douglass Day invites people from all backgrounds to join in this effort to make Douglass’s correspondence more widely accessible and searchable.

In honor of the birthday of Frederick Douglass, lunch and celebratory cake will be provided for all participants. A wide range of dietary needs will be taken into account in catering orders.

Drop-in any time during the event. Registration is encouraged but not required, especially if you are an instructor planning to integrate this event into your class. Signing up for the event will allow us to communicate with you prior to the transcribe-a-thon.

This event is being co-sponsored by DH@MSU, the College of Law, the Kelley Institute for Ethics and the Legal Profession, and the MSU Libraries for "Douglass Day" and "Love Data Week."