Frederick Douglass is returning to Peterboro, or, at least a newly found image of the famous abolitionist is, at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 3, 2016! Douglass, considered “the Nineteenth Century’s Most Photographed American,” has many well-known images. However, this year, during the week of his assumed birthday in 1818 (the second week in February) a librarian found an unfamiliar photograph buried in a scrapbook in the Rochester Public Library’s Local History & Genealogy Division.
The image was revealed to the public at a news conference a few days later and the story of the image will be revealed in Peterboro byChristine Ridarsky. Ridarsky will be bringing the photo with the scrapbook, in which the photo was found, and the video Rediscovering Frederick Douglass, which chronicles the story of finding and preserving the newly-found Douglass photograph.
Christine L. Ridarsky was appointed City of Rochester Historian in October 2008. She has B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication and Political Science from Kent State University, an M.A. in American History from the State University of New York, College at Brockport, and is ABD toward a PhD in American History at the University of Rochester. She is also Editor of Rochester History and Co-Editor of Susan B. Anthony and the Struggle for Equal Rights (University of Rochester Press, 2012).
Ridarsky has more than 10 years of experience in public history and archives, having served as Regional Archivist for the New York State Archives Documentary Heritage Program from 2002 to 2004 and as an archival consultant and professional historian since then. She has also taught history and writing courses at the University of Rochester and SUNY Brockport. She serves as a Trustee and Deputy Regional Coordinator of the Association of Public Historians of New York State, the professional organization that represents the state’s 1,600+ government-appointed historians, and as a member of the Government Historians Committee of the National Council on Public History.
Matt Urtz, Madison County NY Historian, and member of the Cabinet of Freedom for the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum to which Douglass was inducted in 2005, is facilitating the Douglass program Sunday, July 3 as part of the Changing America project and in commemoration of Douglass’ famous speech What to the Slave is the Fourth of July which was delivered in Rochester on July 5, 1862, because Douglass refused to speak on freedom on the Fourth of July. Changing America was created to commemorate two events: The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and the March on Washington of 1963. The Emancipation Proclamation committed the nation to ending slavery after tens of thousands of African Americans claimed freedom for themselves during the Civil War. In the years following, the U.S. Congress passed constitutional amendments abolishing slavery, expanding citizenship rights, and giving black men the right to vote. On August 28, 1963, hundreds of thousands of people gathered for the biggest demonstration ever seen in the District of Columbia—a demonstration to mark the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.
The Changing America exhibit is open from 1-5 pm on Saturdays and Sundays, and from 12 – 4 pm Mondays through Thursdays until July 14. The traveling exhibition is presented by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Museum of American History in collaboration with the American Library Association Public Programs Office. The development and tour of Changing America are made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH): Exploring the human endeavor. The public is encouraged to attend the Changing America exhibit and program at 5255 Pleasant Valley Road, Peterboro NY 13134. Admission is free. For more information: 315-280-8828 nahofm1835@gmail.com, www.nationalabolitionhalloffameandmuseum.org.