Center for the Study of Slavery
Center for the Study of Slavery
A black man wearing glasses sits at a wooden table in a conference room with other people. He is working on a laptop, whose screen reads Douglass Day 2026 with an illustration of Frederick Douglass.
Past Events

Douglass Day 2026: Transcribe-a-thon featuring the Colored Conventions Project

February 13, 2026

Douglass Day is an annual program that marks the birth of Frederick Douglass. Although Douglass never knew his birthdate, he chose to celebrate every year on February 14th.

The Center for the Study of Slavery and Its Legacies commemorates this date annually by participating in a community transcription event facilitated by the Douglass Day team of organizers. This year’s event featured the Colored Conventions Project, a scholarly and community research project dedicated to bringing the history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to digital life. Georgetown students, faculty, staff, and friends gathered in the Philodemic Room in Healy Hall to contribute to this important digital research initiative.

Two volunteers sit at a wooden table in a conference room and stare intently at laptop screens.
Two black men converse while sitting in a conference room, conducting research on their laptops.
An overhead view of the Philodemic Room, filled with people sitting at wooden tables and conducting research on their laptops.
Two volunteers sit together at a wooden table in the Philodemic Room, collaborating as they look at the same laptop screen.