FREDRICK DOUGLASS: THE FELLS POINT YEARS

In my last blog I wrote about my journey returning to academia and touched on the internship I was about to undertake with the Fells Point Preservation Society. All during the winter break my anxiety was in overdrive as I truly did not know what to expect but eagerly looked forward to this experience. On January 5^th I received an email from the Board member who would act as my mentor but unfortunately we could not meet until January 26^th. That meeting went exceptionally well and I was tasked with writing a walking tour commemorating the 200^th anniversary of the birth of Frederick Douglass concentrating on his years in Fells Point. I am almost embarrassed to say I knew scant little of Mr. Douglass’ life other than he was a slave in Maryland, an abolitionist and champion of black civil rights. So a researching I did go.

I dove into my task and checked out over twelve books from the UMBC library either written about Douglass or written by Douglass himself. My research revealed a portrait of a man, who on one hand, the most photographed person of his time, but on the other, exceedingly private regarding his personal life. The Fells Point years appeared a mere footnote, at best, but nonetheless pivotal as they sparked the flame that would become his life’s mission. His words and speeches inspire us today with the same fervor that stirred a nation struggling with its identity on the cusp of civil war. To write a tour successfully I needed to dig deeper into Douglass’ childhood to grasp the importance of his time in Baltimore, why and who inspired him to become a man Lincoln admired declaring “there is no man in the country whose opinion I value more than yours.”[1]  

As any history major will relate, research is tedious, time-consuming, eye straining and at times exasperating, teetering between overwhelmed or underwhelmed depending on existing source material. I was experiencing the emotion of the latter, left pondering how in the heck I would stretch out these fragments of information surrounding Douglass’ time in Fells Point into a five stop hour long tour. I sought the assistance of UMBC Special Collections Department, Courtney Hobson, Coordinator, Dresher Center for the Humanities at UMBC, Enoch Pratt Free Library Maryland Department and Periodical Department along with Francis O’Neill, Reference Librarian with the Maryland Historical Society, and am eternally in their debt for the invaluable assistance, guidance and patience each provided. I determined the best approach should combine known facts with anecdotes of Douglass’ Fells Point years supplemented with historical knowledge of life in the area during that time. Having been on numerous walking tours myself I recognized the tour needed to connect on a personal level with the audience. I wanted to paint the picture of his Fells Point years, first, through the eyes of an eight-year-old boy, and then as they shaped him as a man destined to influence a nation.

In 1818 Frederick Douglass, born Frederick Bailey, grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in rural Talbot County, separated from his mother and raised by his maternal grandmother. Sadly, it was common practice for slave owners to separate families as a form of control and Douglass was no exception. His mother labored on a plantation twelve miles from Douglass and would often sneak out at night walking those twelve miles, risked the beating she knew would come, just to see him. He only saw his mother five times and for no more than an hour each visit. Douglass never knew the actual date of his birth and in my research I found a touching account of why Douglass chose February 14^th as his birthday. He recalled her calling him her “little Valentine”[2], a poignant and heartbreaking memory for a child. When he was eight he endured another separation that sent him to live with the Auld family in Fells Point, Baltimore. Sophia Auld, wife of his master Hugh, taught him the alphabet and was teaching him to read when her husband halted his education, fearing it would make him rebel against being a slave. He later recalled that Mrs. Auld was the first white person who ever treated him with kindness. After Auld forbade his learning, Douglass would bribe the white neighborhood boys to teach him to read and bought his first book from a shop at 28 Thames Street which runs along the waterfront. It was the waterfront where Douglass first encountered black men earning a living through the craft of ship caulking, which would later become his profession. Douglass later recalled that blacks, slave or free, had more opportunities in an urban setting then those blacks working on rural plantations. While in Fells Point Douglass found religion at the Strawberry Alley Methodist church and was mentored by a man known as ‘Uncle Lawson’, his spiritual father. He joined the East Baltimore Mental Improvement Society, which included black caulkers and black men and women looking to improve themselves by literary reading, open discussion and debated various topics, including freedom, liberty and religion.

The years Douglass spent in Fells Point provided the foundation which propelled and influenced his ideals, morals and principals, inspiring his lifelong passion to tirelessly advocate for the rights and freedom of all people of color. I was now ready to write Douglass’ story and life in Fells Point. 

Post by Catherine Sansone

---

[1] Douglass, Frederick. The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass: from 1817-1882. Christian Age Office 1882. Page 321.

[2] http://blogs.brown.edu/libnews/happy-birthday-frederick-douglass/. February 13, 2014 post.

The March for Our Lives

Hi everyone! 

My internship with the Maryland Democratic Party is in full swing. I have been given such amazing opportunities and have gotten to work on a wide range of projects. I’m super grateful, too, that many people have gone out of their way to take me under their wing.

My favorite “assignment” thus far has been accompanying our party chair, Kathleen Matthews, to the “March for Our Lives” event in DC. The Maryland Democrats teamed up with the Democratic National Committee in order to march and show solidarity with victims of gun violence, while also inspiring people downtown to register and pledge to vote this November. We spent the day marching, speaking with people, and working behind the scenes with various media outlets. I got to shadow Kathleen and also spend the day with Tom Perez, the Chairman of the National Democratic Party, and his team.

Believe it or not, my history studies prepared me for this day: more specifically, my experiences within public history courses. Public history is all about communicating the importance and significance of history and experience to various stakeholders. I was able to speak to various people about the issue of gun control, explaining it’s history in the United States and around the world and why it matters so much now. And even more importantly, public history gave me real experience working with groups of people who have different personalities and work styles. When in professional settings, I am no longer intimidated to adapt and work with a team: something I got to do at the March with the fellow Democrat employees. Instead, I am excited and up for the challenge.

I am still absolutely loving this internship and getting to know the ins and outs of the political world. I’m starting to get sad at the thought that the experience is more than halfway over: I plan to savor every day and project I have left. Wishing you all the best in the rest of your semesters! You’ve got this! 

Pictured above: A cute puppy wearing the "March, Protest, Call, Speak & Vote" T-Shirt members of the Democratic party wore during the March. 

My Return to the Classroom and Journey into Public History

Hello all!! My name is Catherine Till Sansone, I am a returning student to UMBC after a very long absence, majoring in History and minoring in Public History. This is the first time I’ve ever blogged so this will be quite the adventure, although my granddaughter assured me I’d be awesome!! I set off on my educational journey in 1970 as a slightly immature, naive seventeen-year-old. UMBC in ’70 was not the campus it is today but I was still unprepared for college, squandered the opportunity and was academically dismissed. Thankfully, I was readmitted in Spring 1984 but again it just wasn’t my time to complete this educational journey and life, well, she just went on rolling. Not completing college has always been a regret and in December of 2014, while on a bus trip from NYC, I decided I was returning to school and finally getting my degree.

            I thought I’d dip my toes in the community college pond before re-enrolling at UMBC. After such an extensive absence I had no clue what college was anymore, what courses might transfer or what I even needed to obtain my degree. Feeling overwhelmed but excited, nonetheless, I enrolled in Spring ’15 at AACC, full of realistic, and I’m quite certain unrealistic anxieties. But my single greatest fear was the simple act of walking back into a classroom and facing a room full of young adults. Thankfully, my apprehension waned and I realized that I loved it, every stress filled moment exhilarated and propelled my desire to finally achieve this lifelong goal and to graduate. In the fall of 2016 I finished everything I needed for AA in Art History and Museum Students and was ready to re-enter UMBC, third times a charm, so they say. Lord only knows what Dr. Meringolo thought as this sixty-plus year old ‘student’ walked into her office seeking advisement!! Her patience, wisdom and encouragement has been a reassuring blessing each time I peek my head into her office, which is often. I declared as a history major in ’70 and retained that status when readmitted but added public history as a minor which was not even an option back in the dark ages of my educational journey.

A requirement of the degree is completion in an internship program related to the field of public history. I am exceedingly fortunate to live in Fells Point, Baltimore, surrounded by history in every single building, on every single street in this twelve block geographic area. I naturally gravitated to the Preservation Society in Fells Point, not even sure if there was an internship program, and if there was a program, how would I be received. Unfortunately, the Preservation Society, like hundreds of other similar societies across the country, are struggling to stay afloat in these tough economic times, dwindling funds, donations and the ability to maintain a salaried staff are harsh realities. So it was not surprising that it took four attempts to locate the person responsible for student internships. Happily, on December 21^st, I was formally awarded an internship with the Preservation Society. Eager for the start of Spring semester, excited in anticipation of my adventures into this bold new world, I will share with you my journey in the upcoming blog. Until then……

Finalizing Our Project: Black Power Chronicles

Now that we've made our URCAD submission, our attention has shifted towards developing our presentation. 

Kevin's been doing a really great job making edits to the appearance of the map and developing the codes necessary for our excel spreadsheet entries to transfer. Cyrus has been trying to find the corresponding geographic location for each event and has been making progress. I've spent the past couple of weeks looking for images that would suffice for our interactive map, making minor edits to excel spreadsheet, and trying to develop our URCAD presentation itself. I've had some trouble trying to find pictures that were taken in Washington D.C. of the black power movement. I've been in contact with the Washingtonia to try and pull pictures and information from the newspaper article available but that's been a challenge in itself. A lot of the documents they pulled for me was for the black power movement across the U.S. and not necessarily focused on the events that occurred in Washington D.C. 

Although we're wrapping up our project and finalizing our presentation, there's still some things we have to figure out for April. We're planning on meeting after spring break to talk more about how we want to present and what exactly we want to showcase during that presentation. Overall, I'm pretty excited. We've been working pretty hard these past three months and the project is slowly coming to a close. It'll be really interesting seeing how everyone receives our presentation--an interactive map that displays the location of an event with the corresponding event description. April 23rd--here we come!!

Using History in Politics?

Hello everyone!

My name is Claire McCormack and I am a senior at UMBC, studying Political Science and History at the Shady Grove campus. Going into my final semester of college (knock-on-wood!), I knew I wanted to undertake an internship that would help me narrow down my vision of my future career.

When Kathleen Matthews, the Chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, spoke in one of my classes last semester, something about her inspired me. She was well-spoken and incredibly smart, but most importantly, she seemed genuinely passionate about the work she was doing with her team. I realized then that my enthusiasm for the advancement of progressive causes really aligned with the mission of the Maryland Democratic Party, and that if I worked there, I would be able to learn from a truly enthusiastic team that Kathleen leads. Critically, I could also learn to apply the vital professional and academic skills history courses have taught me to a real-world setting.

Within a week of meeting Kathleen, I was able to interview and secure an internship for this semester with the Maryland Democratic Party. I was thrilled: excited to be doing something new and exciting, fighting for issues that are relevant to me, and ready for the challenge of showing off my critical thinking, writing, and analysis skills in more than just the classroom. I was also incredibly excited to get to know Annapolis, pictured below on my first day in January.

As a Maryland Democratic Party intern, I have the unique opportunity to get hands-on experience in many different areas. I’m most closely working with the data director and field team, but have had the opportunity to work on political assignments as well. So far, I have really enjoyed getting to speak with voters. I have definitely used the critical listening and questioning skills my public history classes have helped me develop. For instance, last semester I interviewed the executive director of a museum, which made me practice creating a diverse range of questions, and making an environment where people feel comfortable to express both their likes and dislikes, their successes and their failures. 

So far I am absolutely loving my internship- I am so greatful to work here! I look forward to seeing what the next month holds for me. 

URCAD: Submission and Preparation

We've come to the point where we have enough content to submit to URCAD. I've spent a lot of time editing our event descriptions, finding photographs of the event itself, and figuring out how to finalize the project for URCAD submission. There were a few technical edits we had to make in order to ensure that the map was both accurate and functioning properly. Kevin, Ralph, and I got a chance to sit down and talk about finalizing the interactive map's website. Kevin tried to explain the logistics behind entering code for the map to us but we had a hard time understanding exactly what he was talking about. We took that as a signal to focus on our task of inputting entries into the excel sheet and left the technical changes/updates to Kevin. As for the entries, I was able to adjust some of the event descriptions based on the books I was referring to but finding pictures of these events were a bit more challenging.  I had a hard time finding pictures of a lot of the events that took place at the beginning of the 60s. I spent hours trying to find pictures of events that took place at the beginning of the black power movements development, that were either unavailable or inaccessible. I'm going to try and scout newspapers for images instead to see if I have better chances finding pictures that match the events. Dr. Musgrove had already given us a heads up about this earlier on in the project but now that we're preparing our URCAD presentation, we have to start tightening up and completing the project. At least we're on the road to finishing out our entries!

Beginning the Black Power Chronicles

I started working on this project with Dr. Musgrove a couple months after it began. My responsibility was to complete the research needed to input our data into the interactive map. I was basically tasked to look through books and news articles that documented the Black Power movement in Washington D.C. and find significant events that would both mark the events to the locations they occurred and track the progression of the movement to help answer the question--where do we go from here?

Since I didn't feel comfortable directly editing the spreadsheet, I put most of the data I retrieved onto a separate google document. I didn't want to change the work that was already completed in the months prior to me joining in on the project and wasn't really sure how to frame my language into a clear, concise description. Now that I've collected a good amount of information from the research I did scooping several books for information, all I have left to complete on my behalf is inputting that information on the spreadsheet to ensure the interactive map reflects the events that occurred at their respective location. I think it'll be really interesting to see what happens once the entries are complete. So far, so good.