Douglass Day 2023

Douglass Day is an annual program that marks the birth of Frederick Douglass. Each year, thousands of people help create new & freely available resources for learning about Black history. The focus is frequently on important Black women’s archives, such as Anna Julia Cooper (2020), Mary Church Terrell (2021), and this year Mary Ann Shadd Cary.

Mary Ann Shadd Cary was a teacher, newspaper editor, Civil War recruiter, lawyer, and so much more. Transcribe Shadd Cary was a brand new crowdsourcing project presented by the Douglass Day Team, supporters and sponsors. It featured the papers left by Shadd Cary and her networks from Archives of Ontario, Library and Archives Canada, and other newly digitized archives from her life in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC.

NHFPL Stetson Branch and The Building Fund partnered to bring this collective action for Black history to New Haven. Douglass Day 2023 was held at the NHFPL Stetson Branch on February 14, 2023 from 12-3PM. The New Haven program had music, light refreshments, and a livestream of the Douglass Day featuring speakers and activities honoring Black history and the contributions of Mary Ann Shadd Cary.