Frederick Douglass was America’s “Great Lion of Liberty” in the 19th century. And on Feb. 1, Steuben County folks will get a chance to hear the lion roar.
Regional historian Robert Babcock will speak and facilitate in Steuben County Historical Society’s next Winter Lecture, “Frederick Douglass: A Man of Vision.”
The lecture will be presented at 4 p.m. Feb. 1 at Bath Fire Hall.
In addition to Babcock telling the tale of the Maryland slave who “stole himself” and made a home in Rochester, he will introduce students Jessica and Natalie Norris, who will deliver excerpts from Douglass’s speeches -- for which they have been honored by the Frederick Douglass Oratory Committee, besides winning oratorical honors from the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and others.
Frederick Douglass, the name he later took for himself, rarely saw his mother, who was assigned to a different farm, and never knew his age or his birthday. He surreptitiously taught himself to read, escaped from slavery, published his autobiography, and became a tireless agitator for abolition.
In Rochester -- where he could make a break for Canada if needed -- he published a newspaper and orchestrated movement on the Underground Railroad.
Nor was he concerned only for slaves, or for African Americans. In 1848 he took several days in Seneca Falls for the first women’s rights convention, and was one of the few men to sign its Declaration of Sentiments.
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“Frederick Douglas: A Man of Vision” will be presented 4 p.m. Feb. 1 at Bath Fire Hall. Admission is free and open to the public.
Frederick Douglass was America’s “Great Lion of Liberty” in the 19th century. And on Feb. 1, Steuben County folks will get a chance to hear the lion roar.
Regional historian Robert Babcock will speak and facilitate in Steuben County Historical Society’s next Winter Lecture, “Frederick Douglass: A Man of Vision.”
The lecture will be presented at 4 p.m. Feb. 1 at Bath Fire Hall.
In addition to Babcock telling the tale of the Maryland slave who “stole himself” and made a home in Rochester, he will introduce students Jessica and Natalie Norris, who will deliver excerpts from Douglass’s speeches -- for which they have been honored by the Frederick Douglass Oratory Committee, besides winning oratorical honors from the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and others.
Frederick Douglass, the name he later took for himself, rarely saw his mother, who was assigned to a different farm, and never knew his age or his birthday. He surreptitiously taught himself to read, escaped from slavery, published his autobiography, and became a tireless agitator for abolition.
In Rochester -- where he could make a break for Canada if needed -- he published a newspaper and orchestrated movement on the Underground Railroad.
Nor was he concerned only for slaves, or for African Americans. In 1848 he took several days in Seneca Falls for the first women’s rights convention, and was one of the few men to sign its Declaration of Sentiments.
***
“Frederick Douglas: A Man of Vision” will be presented 4 p.m. Feb. 1 at Bath Fire Hall. Admission is free and open to the public.
