Frederick Douglass was a highly visible public figure, a popular orator, and a prolific writer and memoirist; he has also been called “the 19th century’s most photographed American.” Two hundred years after his birth, however, locating and bringing together scattered documentary records of Douglass’s life can be a challenge. While the circumstances of his life and legacy certainly play a role, this elusiveness may have as much to do with the variety of institutions that hold such materials and the differing standards and practices among libraries, museums, and archives.
The Eastman Museum will host a conversation about these challenges. The panelists are Jessica Lacher-Feldman, assistant dean, Special Collections and Preservation, University of Rochester; Jennifer Morris, archivist, Anacostia Community Museum, Washington, DC; and Heather Shannon, associate curator, Department of Photography, George Eastman Museum. Ken Fox, head of library and archives, Eastman Museum, will moderate. Join us as we set out to find Frederick Douglass.
Free and open to the public.
