Honorable mention award-winning cake.
Douglass Day at SUNY Fredonia included student work designed to help create freely accessible materials for learning about Black history.
This year's event featured a vast collection of materials from the Colored Conventions, which were political meetings organized throughout the 19th century at the state and national levels by free and formerly enslaved African Americans to advocate for civil rights and justice.
On Feb. 13, at events taking place around the world, participants collectively transcribed documents that focused on conventions before and after the passage of the 14th Amendment to establish birthright citizenship and due process for all. So far, over 1,200 volunteers have transcribed over 30,000 classifications from the historical collections.
Approximately 60 participants throughout the afternoon contributed to the transcibathon in the Williams Center, which also featured a brief presentation by Dr. Emily VanDette about the history of Douglass Day, as well as livestreamed guest speakers and performances from the national Douglass Day team. Co-host Scott Richmond and Reed Library colleagues curated a collection of digital resources to coordinate with the event, and Reed Library provided laptops for participants to use throughout the transcibathon. A team of undergraduate students working with Dr. VanDette assisted in planning, promoting, and hosting the event, and curated an African American literary history exhibit displayed in Fenton Hall in honor of Black History Month. Student volunteers were Monty Cooke, Raven Adams, Jaslyn Branch, Bishop Christy and Naii Sancho.
Mary Croxton and Nancy Boynton from the League of Women Voters of Chautauqua County participated in the event with a table for voter registration and information. Raffle prizes were donated by SUNY Fredonia's Black Student Union.
Douglass Day at Fredonia was supported by the Ethnic and Gender Studies Program and funded by the Carnahan Jackson Fund for the Humanities and the Mary Louise White Fund, both established through the Fredonia College Foundation, and the Office of the Provost.
A birthday cake created in honor of the 19th century abolitionist, statesman, and author Frederick Douglass won honorable mention in a nationwide competition.
VanDette has participated in the program in past years through her American literature classrooms, but this was the first year Fredonia hosted a public event that included students, faculty, and staff alongside members of the local community.
