Time: 11:00 AM-3:00 PM

Location: Camp Meigs Memorial Park, 11 Stanbro St, Boston, MA 02136 (Hyde Park)

Participants:

• Nettie Washington Douglass, Chair Emerita, Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, great-great granddaughter of Frederick Douglass and great-granddaughter of Booker T. Washington

• Kenneth B. Morris, Jr., President, Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, great-great-great grandson of Frederick Douglass and great-great grandson of Booker T. Washington

• Nicole Morris, 4x great-granddaughter of Frederick Douglass and 3x great-granddaughter of Booker T. Washington

• Representative Rob Consalvo

• Senator Michael Rush

• Regie Gibson, Inaugural Poet Laureate of Massachusetts

• 54th Massachusetts reenactors

• Hyde Park community leaders

• Representatives from Mass Humanities

• Representatives from the Consul General of Ireland in Boston

Description: This opening event of #DouglassWeek 2025 will honor Frederick Douglass, his sons Lewis and Charles, and their Civil War service. At this event, three generations of the Douglass family will be together at the Camp Meigs site, the place where their ancestor Charles Remond Douglass began his Civil War service and where he trained alongside his brother Lewis Henry Douglass. Massachusetts Poet Laureate Regie Gibson, Mass Humanities, Hyde Park community leaders, and others will help commemorate the connection between the Douglass family and Camp Meigs.

Camp Meigs, and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment and the 5th Massachusetts Cavalry, play a significant part in the Douglass family’s history in the Commonwealth. Frederick Douglass saw the Civil War as a fight over slavery and encouraged President Lincoln to recruit Black men to the Union Army. Two of Douglass’ three sons, Lewis Henry Douglass and Charles Remond Douglass, were recruited into the Union Army by their father, trained at Camp Meigs, and served in the 54th (with Charles eventually transferring to the 5th Cavalry). Due to illness, Charles was not able to deploy in the field with the 54th and so remained on site in garrison at Camp Meigs for 11 months in 1863-64. The members of the Douglass family who will participate in the September 28th event are descended from Charles Douglass.

The event program will include remarks and a wreath laying with members of the Douglass family at the 54th Massachusetts memorial and a "Reading Frederick Douglass Together" opportunity:

• Remarks, remembrances and a wreath laying at the 54th Massachusetts memorial in the park with the Douglass family, elected officials, community leaders, MA Poet Laureate Regie Gibson, and the 54th Massachusetts reenactors

• "Reading Frederick Douglass Together"event, in partnership with Mass Humanities. Members of the community will have an opportunity to join the Douglass family and others to read excerpts from Douglass’ 1864 “The Mission of the War” Civil War speech and from letters between Frederick and Charles Douglass while Charles was at Camp Meigs for 11 months in 1863-64. Participants will also be invited to record a reflection on the experience. (Generously supported by a 2025 Reading Frederick Douglass Together grant from our partner Mass Humanities)

We hope that many members of the Hyde Park community will join us for this historic event. This will be an historic occasion, with three generations of the Douglass family gathered in a very important place to honor their family history in Massachusetts and Boston.