This year’s Frederick Douglass Day, which will take place on Saturday, September 28^th, will feature a variety of fun and educational activities for the whole family. Organized by the Frederick Douglass Honor Society, the event has taken place in Easton for over a decade and has always been a great way for residents of Talbot County and those from far and wide to learn more about Douglass and his connection to the county’s history. Each year, one of the main events of the celebration is a keynote speech given by an expert on Douglass and related subjects; this year’s lecture will be given by Dr. Keidrick J. Roy, an award-winning scholar of American intellectual history and political thought.

Roy began his academic career at the United States Air Force Academy, receiving his Bachelor’s degree in English; he also served as a commissioned officer in the Air Force for eight years. He then attained a Master’s degree in the same subject from the University of Arizona, and began his career in teaching. After teaching classes at the USAF Academy and Harvard University, he received his Ph.D. from Harvard in American Studies. His dissertation, Jefferson’s Map, Douglass’s Territory: The Black Reconstruction of Enlightenment in America, 1773-1865, won two awards from the university: the DeLancey K. Jay Prize for “the best work across the University upon any subject relating to the history or development of constitutional government and free institutions in the United States or Great Britain or any other part of the English-speaking world at any period of history,” and the Helen Choate Bell Prize for the best dissertation on any topic related to American literature.

Roy is now a Junior Fellow at the Harvard University Society of Fellows, an organization which provides scholars of “exceptional ability, originality, and resourcefulness” the opportunity to continue their research and further their academic career. His upcoming first book, American Dark Age: Racial Feudalism and the Rise of Black Liberalism, will be available for purchase in September. The book focuses on the racial and political climate of 19^th-century America, a “racially stratified country that reflected not the ideals of a modern republic but rather the remnants of feudalism,” in Roy’s words. He expounds on how a contingent of Black liberal thinkers encountered and fought against this systemic racial hierarchy and had a profound impact on the country’s intellectual and political traditions.

Roy’s lecture on Frederick Douglass Day, which will be held at the Talbot County Free Library at 1pm on Saturday, September 28^th, will be his first public appearance following the release of American Dark Age. He will begin the lecture with an overview of Douglass’ life and works. The remainder of the speech will focus on three central questions that provoke discussion on how the words of marginalized people can “transform political realities”: the first question is, “Why did so many African American abolitionists (and their proslavery opponents) use terms such as “dark ages,” “feudalism,” and “vassalage” to describe America’s racial order before the Civil War?” followed by, “Did their assessments corroborate the reality of the nineteenth-century U.S. political order?” and finally, “How can their reactions to what I call “racial feudalism” help us to understand the political frustrations of our present moment?”

Roy hopes that his lecture will encourage conversations on how Douglass and other Black American thinkers transformed the political landscape of early America. He believes that the methods employed by these thinkers, such as their approach to debate which was “neither driven by racial identity nor devoid of its implications,” remain relevant to our modern political climate. Roy’s lecture will illuminate these approaches that, in his words, can foster “meaningful political engagement that remain compelling today amid ongoing social, economic, and racial divides.”

While you wait for Frederick Douglass Day and Roy’s lecture, you may consider familiarizing yourself with some of his previous work, such as his essay “Racial Feudalism” in Modern Intellectual History, which introduces similar topics to his upcoming book. His previous essay, “The Other Souls of Black Folk: George Washington Woodbey and the Spirit of Socialism” in American Political Thought, vol. 12 no. 3, explores early Black socialist thought in comparison to thinkers who were “[implicitly committed] to capitalism.” He also contributed to the HBO film Frederick Douglass: in Five Speeches, a documentary which follows the life of Douglass through five of his most celebrated addresses.

No matter your level of familiarity with Roy’s work, his lecture is certain to be educational and interesting to all. His work frames the life of Frederick Douglass and other Black thinkers through perspectives which have yet to be explored in as thorough a manner as Roy does. While you enjoy the many activities that this year’s Frederick Douglass Day will offer, make sure to set aside time to participate in this lecture which will expand your mental horizons.