Frederick Douglass was one of the few men present at the pioneer woman’s rights convention held at Seneca Falls, New York, in July 1848. His support of women’s rights never wavered although in 1869 he publicly disagreed with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony who called for women’s suffrage simultaneously with voting rights for black men, arguing that prejudice and violence against black men made their need for the franchise more pressing.  Nonetheless, Douglass remained a constant champion of the right of women to vote.

In April 1888, in a speech before the International Council of Women, in Washington, D.C., Douglass recalls his role at the Seneca Falls convention although he insists that women rather than men should be the primary spokespersons for the movement.

Link to source for the above and the full speech can be found here.

Oliver King will portray Fredeick Douglass and deliver the speech Douglass delivered back in 1888.

In the Robert D. Norris Community Room