The 4th Annual Frederick Douglass In Newburgh Day will take place on Friday, August 11 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Tyrone Crabb Memorial Park in the City of Newburgh. The community park is located at the corner of Grand and South Street.

According to Gabrielle Burton-Hill, Co-Founder/Organizer of the Frederick Douglass In Newburgh Day Project Committee, Douglass visited the City of Newburgh on August 11, 1870. The reason for his visit, according to the Newburgh Free Library website, was part of a speaking tour where he spoke on the 15th Amendment. The 15th Amendment officially established Voting Rights in America.

A former slave of the American South, Frederick Douglass has been recognized and honored for his work both in the United States and overseas in speaking out against slavery, on social reform and literature.

Burton-Hill was also pleased to announce that with the annual celebration, William Walker, Anthony Grice and Kyle Conway, all Black male educators and community leaders will be honored for their work in the classroom and in their community Friday night.

“We began to look at Frederick Douglass and what he stood for, and his humanitarian role, but also recognizing the needs of Black families at that time, we thought of how he was an educator, although he was not a formal teacher, but he did teach through his work,” said Burton-Hill. “There are many Black male educators in Newburgh, including coaches that we looked at. Like Frederick Douglass, these men are wearing many hats. Their presence in the classroom is vitally important.”