Frederick Douglass Day
The City of Poughkeepsie issued a Proclamation that August 2nd of 2021 will be Frederick Douglass Day. To continue promoting Douglass’ work, Celebrating the African Spirit hosts an annual Frederick Douglass Day event at College Hill Park to educate and encourage his abolitionist spirit through music, food, and uplifting community.
Frederick Douglass Day 2025
To get a sense of how the community comes together to celebrate Douglas’ abolitionist spirit, below are highlights of the creativity and festivities that took place:
1. Introduction
2. Recognition
4. Meditation
CAS Summer Intensive Students
Students, ages 15-18, who participate in Celebrating the African Spirit's Summer Intensive present their passionate projects to the Poughkeepsie community on Frederick Douglass Day. To learn more about the summer intensive, click here.
On August 2nd, 1858 the internationally known abolitionist Frederick Douglass, himself formerly enslaved, delivered a speech about U.S. politics to an audience of several thousand at Poughkeepsie’s College Hill Park.
The address recognized Emancipation Day, the date Great Britain abolished slavery—August 1, 1834—but at the time, millions of Blacks were still enslaved in the U.S. Frederick Douglass's 1858 speech in College Hill Park was a major historical event in Poughkeepsie, NY that contributed to the fight for the abolition of slavery.
CAS chose to commemorate this day on August 1st, 2021 in its original location, featuring Paul Oakley Stovall of Hamilton to recite parts of his speech.
