Frederick Douglass Day Transcribe-A-Thon

Douglass Day honors the legacy of Frederick Douglass. Douglass never knew the date of his birth, but he believed his mother associated his birth with Valentine’s Day. So followers wishing to commemorate his life chose that date to honor him. After his 1895 passing, Douglass Day events were widespread, and eventually inspired the designation of February as Black History Month.

In 2017, a group of academics revived the holiday, with a goal of preserving Black history through collective action. To create new resources for teaching and learning about Black history, they organized an annual Transcribe-a-thon in Douglass’s honor. Last year, Douglass Day drew 8,000 participants, and this year, organizer hope to add more. The official event will be on February 13.

RPWRHS is proud to join the 2026 celebration by hosting a Douglass Day Transcribe-a-thon at our office. Click the link for more detail about Douglass Day.

As part of the celebration, volunteers will transcribe documents now stored in archives around the country. The goal is to make important records of Blacks in America accessible to researchers, historians and ordinary people world wide. RPWRHS volunteers in our office will create digital assets from a set of documents assigned to us by the organizers. As you work, you’ll be looking at original handwritten documents that few others have ever seen.

The day won’t be all work. We’ll gather as a group and have fun all day. At 11 am local time, we’ll tune in to a live stream of the big birthday party. Along with thousands worldwide, we’ll sing Happy Birthday, and enjoy our own birthday cake from a local Black-owned bakery.

No experience is needed. Just bring your laptop or tablet and be prepared to type from handwritten records never before available online. Participation is limited by the capacity of our office, so register now to reserve your spot.