Among America’s historical orators, few are held in higher regard than Frederick Douglass. Born into slavery in 1817 or 1818 (the exact date of his birth remains unknown) in Maryland’s Talbot County, Douglass was separated from his mother as an infant, and never knew his father, though he speculated it may have been his master. At the age of six, he was forcibly relocated to the Wye Plantation, a few miles from the town of Easton, where he remained until 1826; Douglass was then given to Thomas Auld in Baltimore at the age of seven or eight.

In his captivity in Baltimore, he was initially encouraged to learn to read and write by Thomas’ wife Sophia Auld, who, by Douglass’ account, treated him fairly for a time. However, Sophia would later come under her husband’s influence and refuse to continue Douglass’ education in reading. Subsequently, Douglass began to teach himself, with the aid of several white children who lived nearby. As his skills in reading and writing grew, Douglass became interested in political writings and newspapers, and he began for the first time to believe that slavery must be abolished.

Frustrated with Douglass, Thomas Auld became increasingly harsh and cruel toward him, before eventually loaning Douglass to Edward Covey, a farmer with a reputation for “breaking” slaves. Covey beat and whipped Douglass frequently and forced him to perform farm labor to the point of physical exhaustion. After Douglass complained to Auld about Covey’s brutal treatment, Covey planned to tie up Douglass on the farm as punishment, but Douglass was able to physically overpower him, and after a two-hour bout, the enslaved man was victorious and was never whipped again by Covey.

After his time on Covey’s farm, Douglass was sent back to Baltimore, where he worked in a shipyard. Soon after, he met the woman who would become his wife, Anna Murray, a free black woman who encouraged Douglass to escape to the North. Douglass decided to follow her advice, and boarded a train to Havre de Grace, Maryland. He continued through Wilmington, Delaware to Philadelphia, and finally to a safehouse in New York City. Douglass was able to avoid detection due to a sailor’s uniform provided to him by Murray, in addition to identification documents given to him by a free black sailor.

Once he reached the North, Douglass arranged for Murray to meet him in New York, where the two were married a few days after her arrival; the couple would later have five children. The two soon joined the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and Douglass began giving public speeches, both as a preacher and as an abolitionist. He also wrote articles for several abolitionist newspapers. In 1845, Douglass published his first autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, which was an instant success, and would become one of the most highly regarded pieces of abolitionist literature in American history.

In addition to his work in the abolitionist movement, Douglass became involved in social causes such as the women’s suffrage movement and the labor movement, helping to found the first black labor union in the United States, the American League of Colored Laborers. In 1852, he gave what would become his most acclaimed address, titled “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”, condemning the hypocrisy of white Americans who celebrated their freedom from the British crown while ignoring the continued enslavement of black Americans.

Douglass was acquainted with President Abraham Lincoln, and wrote positively of the Emancipation Proclamation; however, he endorsed Lincoln’s competitor, John C. Frémont, in the Presidential election of 1864, due to Lincoln’s lack of support for African American suffrage. After Lincoln’s assassination, Douglass was invited to give an address at the unveiling of the Emancipation Memorial, a statue of Lincoln, and spoke candidly of his mixed feelings toward the former President. Calling him the “white man’s President,” Douglass decried his ambivalence on the cause of abolition but praised his ability as a statesman. Douglass was later the first black person to be nominated for Vice President, but he refused to campaign for the position.

Douglass lived out his later years in Washington, D.C., becoming the first black United States Marshall in the city. When his former master, Thomas Auld, was on his deathbed, Douglass visited him at the request of his daughter; according to him, this final encounter brought closure to his experience being enslaved. Douglass was devasted by the death of his wife in 1882, though he later remarried. In 1895, after giving a brief speech at the National Council of Women, Douglass suffered a heart attack and passed away. He was buried in Rochester, New York, where he had lived for decades with his family.

Though slavery was abolished during Douglass’ lifetime, his struggle for racial equality in America continues to this day. The continued prevalence of racial inequity in the United States has driven generations of activists to follow in Douglass’ footsteps, from the Civil Rights movement of the mid-20^th century to today’s Black Lives Matter movement. The Frederick Douglass Honor Society, based in Talbot County, is dedicated to preserving the abolitionist’s legacy and continuing his work of elevating the voices of African Americans.

A large portion of the work of the Frederick Douglass Honor Society involves hosting an annual celebration of Frederick Douglass Day, the fourth Saturday of September. The event includes a parade, recitations of Douglass’ famous speeches, book signings by notable civil rights authors, and speeches given by activists, scholars, and members of local government. Last year’s keynote address was given by Dr. Derrick R. Spires, a professor at the University of Delaware, who spoke on the subject of early African American political writings and their contribution to building a concept of citizenship for black Americans.

Harriette Lowery, a founding member of the Honor Society, has been instrumental in the yearly celebration of Douglass. She, along with her late husband Eric Lowery, worked alongside the Elks Lodge, Talbot County NAACP, and the American Legion to plan the inaugural Frederick Douglass Day in 2009. The celebration was initially conceived to raise funds for a new statue of Douglass, which was unveiled at the Talbot County Courthouse in 2011. Lowery herself is a descendant of people who were enslaved alongside Douglass at the Wye Plantation; her ancestor, now known only by his surname Demby, is referred to in Douglass’ first autobiography. Douglass explains how Demby was murdered by the Wye Plantation’s overseer for refusing to leave a creek where he was soothing his wounds after a brutal whipping.

The Wye Plantation (now known as the Wye House) where Douglass was enslaved still stands today in Talbot County, and is owned by descendants of its original owners, the Lloyd family. Richard Tilghman, the current owner of the Wye House, has also contributed greatly to the preservation of Douglass’ legacy: Tilghman invited Mark Leone, PhD, a professor of anthropology at the University of Maryland, to perform an extensive archeological study of the Wye House and its grounds in order to discover details about the lives of the people who were enslaved there.

Leone discovered census records containing the names, ages, and occupations of the Wye House slaves; records listing the family names of slaves are exceedingly uncommon, and the Wye House censuses are some of the few that have ever been located. Tilghman recognized the importance of this work in connecting Douglass’ history with the personal histories of those who are descended from enslaved people, and in bringing awareness to the work that Douglass took part in during his life. In his words: “Douglass was undoubtably the most famous black person of the 19^th century in America. Here we are 200 years later, and the average person barely knows anything about him.”

In addition to the statue of Douglass erected in 2011, another artistic rendition of the abolitionist was added to Easton’s visual landscape in 2023: a mural which depicts a modernized Douglass in a squatting position known as the “Prison Pose” or “Rap Squat.” The mural is an enlarged version of an original painting by artist Adam Himoff and was commissioned by local restaurateur Richard Marks. The mural intends to connect Douglass’ struggle for freedom with similar struggles faced by contemporary black artists; the squatting pose was popularized in the 90s by rap artists such as Jay-Z and 50 Cent.

The lasting impact of Douglass’ activism on the community of Talbot County can be seen clearly through the variety of ways in which his life and works are celebrated. The holidays, works of art, lectures, and other community events honoring Douglass could not exist without the combined contributions of the Talbot County community. Those who have become involved in the continuance of Douglass’ work, regardless of their personal background, have done so due to their genuine belief in the importance of his message. As Frederick Douglass himself described: “In a composite nation like ours, as before the law, there should be no rich, no poor, no high, no low, no white, no black, but common country, common citizenship, equal rights and a common destiny.”

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