Frederick Douglass Day 2021
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.
Guests arrived early to the event to enjoy a picnic lunch at College Hill Park. The event began at 2pm, commencing with a rousing procession around the College Hill Park Pavilion by Souls United of Hudson Valley, an interfaith gospel choir, and the Center for Creative Education’s Percussion Orchestra of Kingston, a multicultural youth ensemble. Guests braved serious winds and rain, that we believed to be Frederick Douglass assuring us his presence from above.
Hamilton actor Paul Oakley Stovall recited Frederick Douglass’s Emancipation Day speech in its original Poughkeepsie location. He performed “The Poughkeepsie Words of Frederick Douglass” to a crowd of approximately 150-200 people. Paul Oakley Stovall is an actor, award-winning playwright, television writer, and activist based in Chicago. He portrayed George Washington in the first national tour of Hamilton and has appeared in numerous other national tours and Off-Broadway productions. He did a wonderful job capturing Douglass’s essence and passion, and left his audience in awe.
The students from the 2021 CAS Youth Summer Program presented their poster memorials of “Hidden Histories” in Poughkeepsie. Akayla Worme, Mary Haddad, Sadia Rashid, and Hawi Opondo, all local teenage community members, aimed to amplify the voices of enslaved Africans whose voices had not been heard. They did a wonderful job learning about the histories of enslaved Africans and their descendants in Poughkeepsie, as well as new graphic and artistic design concepts from other wonderful organizations and community members. Their posters were displayed for the audience to ponder about.
At the end of the event, the City of Poughkeepsie issued a Proclamation that August 2 of 2021 will be Frederick Douglass Day. The Frederick Douglass event was cosponsored by the City of Poughkeepsie (Yvonne Flowers 5th Ward Councilwoman) and the Helen Forster Novy 1928 Fund at Vassar College. Stovall’s performance is supported by New York Stage and Film (NYSF) as part of its summer partnership with Marist and Vassar Colleges.
