Frederick Douglass

British filmmaker and artist Isaac Julien’s visionary 10-screen film installation is the second in a series of media art commissions at the Memorial Art Gallery devoted to the history and culture of the city of Rochester.

The rare song, scored for voice and piano, probably hasn’t been performed in more than a hundred years, with only two known copies of the sheet music in the world. The only known copy in America now resides at the University of Rochester.

On December 3, 1847, the first issue of the North Star newspaper was published in the city of Rochester. One hundred and seventy one years later, the city again celebrated abolitionist, activist, author, and orator Frederick Douglass in an evening of words and song at Rochester’s Hochstein Hall. The Prophet of Freedom event include a performance by Eastman School of Music student Jonathan Rhodes '20 of a song written for Douglass in 1847 that had not been performed in 100 years.

Only two copies of “Farewell Song of Frederick Douglass” are known to exist—and one of them was acquired earlier this year by River Campus Libraries.

In a letter recently acquired by River Campus Libraries, abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass expresses his pleasure with a bust that can now be reproduced by anyone with a 3D printer.

Awards for outstanding contributions of distinguished leaders, educators and humanitarians will be presented at the 168th Commencement ceremonies on May 18, 19, and 20, and at the Simon Business School ceremony on June 10.

Like most African Americans born into slavery, Frederick Douglass was never told the date and year of his birth. He chose February 14 as the day on which to celebrate it, and in 2018 we celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth. At the University of Rochester, one of the most extensive collections of Douglass artifacts in the country can be found in Rush Rhees Library.

Victor Garza '19, left, and associate professor of English Gregory Heyworth prepare to scan the marble bust of Frederick Douglass in the Frederick Douglass Building . The students in Heyworth’s Digital Imaging class are using a structured light scanner to create a digital rendering of the marble bust. Their goal is to create a file that can be accessed and the bust reproduced anywhere with a 3D printer. (University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster)

Looking back at the life of the abolitionist leader and activist, Rashad Moore ’17 asks some African-American campus leaders: What does Frederick Douglass mean to us today?

Douglass was profoundly influenced by the Rochester region. But the region’s role in shaping the abolitionist leader has not been fully appreciated, according to history professor Larry Hudson.