Douglass Day 2024 at SUNY Geneseo

Photo courtesy of Professor Paul Schacht

This year Geneseo hosted their second annual Douglass Day event. It took place in the ballroom within the Robert MacVittie Union. The all-day affair, hosted by the Center for Digital Learning, began at 9 a.m. and had activities until 3 p.m. Professor Paul Schacht played an active role in the planning and operation of this event and was eager to discuss the details surrounding the day. 

“Douglass Day is about recruiting ordinary citizens to help preserve the public historical record of black lives and black activism in the US, a record that has not received the attention it deserves. It’s a perfect fit for us at SUNY Geneseo, a public liberal arts college striving to center diversity, equity, and social justice.” Schacht said. The attendance of the event doubled from 2023, with about 100 participants this year. Participants were a mix of students, academic faculty, and professional faculty at Geneseo. 

The main focus of the day was on transcribing personal historical documents belonging to Frederick Douglass and those around him. Students did not have to be physically present to help with transcribing, as the website used could be accessed from anywhere. The task of transcribing historical documents may seem stressful, but detailed instructions were provided to participants before it commenced. 

All documents that were transcribed were also reviewed by multiple individuals, taking the pressure off transcribers to get every single word, letter, or punctuation correct alone. If any mistakes were made, the next person in the chain of command could catch it easily. This was important because of how difficult it can be to read some of the digitized handwriting as a majority of it was in cursive. 

Many groups on campus participated in the day and the activities that took place. One group, the Geneseo Chamber Singers, performed a piece directed by SUNY Distinguished Service Professor of Music and Musical Theatre, Gerry Floriano. Alongside live performances, the livestream from the Center for Black Digital Research at Penn State was projected on stage for all to see. 

Since it was Douglass’ birthday, it was only appropriate for the event to include a sung rendition of “Happy Birthday” and a cake as well! Both Campus Auxiliary Services and Sweet Arts Bakery which is located on Main Street, were generous enough to donate cakes for the event.

Schacht was very excited to work alongside so many wonderful people this year for Douglass Day and truly cared about what the event was all about stating; “Heroes of the past like Frederick Douglass, who have, deservedly, become icons, can seem like they exist on a separate plane from the rest of us. What I think people love about transcribing personal historical documents like the Douglass letters at the Library of Congress is the way the activity gives new life and immediacy to the past and connects us to great historical figures, as fellow human beings.”

For those who missed the event this year, have no fear, it is annual! It is hard to imagine how one could top Douglass Day 2024, but next year you need to stop by to see just how they may do that.