Event
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Commemoration of the first landing of enslaved Africans in English-occupied America
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Description
Join the National Park Service staff and members of the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association at the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site as part of a nationwide commemoration honoring and remembering the enslaved Africans brought to Point Comfort (Fort Monroe National Monument) Virginia in 1619. At the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, visitors will have the opportunity to actively participate in the commemoration through reading Douglass' speech "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?," hearing a short talk on Douglass' wife, Helen Pitts, and her efforts to teach African Americans to read at Fort Monroe, and engaging in a facilitated dialogue centered on the question, "What makes you feel most free?"
2:30 p.m. - Ranger Program begins - Public reading of "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"
3:00 p.m. - Healing Day Bell Ringing Ceremony - This ceremony will last four minutes, honoring 400 years of African American history and culture.
3:04 p.m. - Ranger talk on Douglass' wife, Helen Pitts and her connection to teaching African Americans at Fort Monroe.
3:15 p.m. - Facilitated dialogue in which visitors can discuss their thoughts on "What makes you feel free?"
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