Douglass Day 2024 - Transcribe-a-thon

Program Type:

Special Events

Age Group:

Adults
Please note you are looking at an event that has already happened.
Registration for this event is no longer open.

Program Description

Event Details

Join us for Douglass Day 2024!

Every Valentine’s Day, we invite you to a birthday party for Frederick Douglass. Although Douglass never knew his birthdate, he chose to celebrate every year on February 14th. We celebrate this date as a moment for creating Black history together.

Douglass Day 2024 will feature the general correspondence of Frederick Douglass from the Library of Congress. We will attempt to transcribe all 8,731 pages in one day with participants from around the country. 

What is a transcribe-a-thon?

Transcribe-a-thons are events in which people gather together to work side-by-side on a crowdsourcing transcription project. 

Our transcribe-a-thon will take place in the Community History Room on the ground floor of the library. 

Bring your laptop and enjoy some birthday cake with us as we participate in this year's Douglass Day 2024! We will also have a few computers on hand for participants to use.

We invite you to drop in any time between 12 and 3 pm, or stay with us for the full 3 hours!

Because seating in our Community History Room is limited, registration is encouraged (not required). 

Event schedule

Live broadcast – 12:00 to 12:30pm

  • Sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (lyrics)
  • Overview for the Douglass Day program
  • Speakers on Douglass
  • Tutorial on Transcribing at the LOC

Activity – 12:30 to 1:00pm - Transcribing Time

Live broadcast – 1:00 to 1:30pm

  • Sing “Happy birthday”
  • A dramatic reading of “Why Hold a Colored Convention?” by Hassan El-Amin & introductions

Activity – 1:30 to 2:00pm - Transcribing Time

Live broadcast – 2:00 to 2:20pm - details coming soon

Activity – 2:20 to 2:45pm - Transcribing Time

2:45 to 3:00 pm - Closing Reflections

Learn more about Douglass Day!

Things to Know

Accessibility

The library makes every effort to ensure our programs can be enjoyed by all. If you have any concerns about accessibility or need to request specific accommodations, please contact the library.

Photography

We frequently take photos and videos at our events. Here's what we do with them.