1838 – Frederick Douglass Escapes to Freedom
On this day in 1838, Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery. Donning a seaman’s uniform and carrying another man’s free papers, Douglass took the harrowing journey from Maryland by train and ship until reaching New York the next day. He was sheltered by other anti-slavery activists until his intended wife, Anna Murray, was able to join him in New York. The pair married and moved on to Bedford, Massachusetts, to avoid uncovering his fugitive status. With his newfound freedom and new last name, Douglass began his life as the abolitionist crusader we celebrate today.
1895 – Charles Hamilton Houston is Born
On this day in 1895, lawyer and civil rights leader Charles Hamilton Houston was born. Houston graduated with his law degree from Harvard and eventually went on to become dean of Howard University Law School. As the first general counsel of the NAACP, he developed strategies to challenge segregation and helped establish the foundation for the 1954 Supreme Court decision for Brown v. Board of Education. Although he passed away four years before the landmark case, he is often dubbed “The Man Who Killed Jim Crow” for his work.
