2024 Events and Activites We are the neighborhood. Fall Clean Up Nov 10, 2024 Wonderful crew at the garden today! On the second Sunday of each month, Love ALLiance church chooses a community service activity instead of having service. This month they joined with Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Association joined up to do a little fall cleanup and prepare the garden beds for winter. ��� It was a beautiful day! #community City of Brockton Reading Douglass Together July 13, 2024 We had a nice turn out in spite of the showers. The big tent definitely helped! Readers of all ages participated including a 5th grader who read in Portuguese! Our VP Cynthia Hodges of Lady C&J Soulfood & Catering INC. brought her ice cream truck so we were able to give out free treats to our guests! It was a great day. Summer Improvements & Volunteers June 2024 Hello Friends! We have been busy over the last several weeks working on the garden and then, on June 7, an amazing thing happened! We received a generous donation from The Home Depot Foundation, G.Norwood Garden Center, Seones, Tri-Town Construction, LLC of plants, mulch, soil, and stone to beautify the garden for Juneteenth and future events. A special shout out to FDNA Vice President, Cynthia McCall-hodges, who made the connections for all that to be possible! A team from Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Association, Messiah Baptist Church, and faithful members of the community SHOWED UP and worked so hard on a hot day to get everything installed. You will notice there's a nice combination of perennials and annuals to complement the existing plants! Even two Haitian men who were walking by offered to help. Truly an amazing community effort. Did I mention the team who has been WATERING?!! Firestone graciously gave us permission to use their faucet so we can hook up a hose when we need to water! This morning a team of us added more mulch and used a pressure washer to try and remove the graffiti from the wall. We made progress! THANK YOU again to all who have generously offered their time and commitment to the garden. It makes a difference in our community! "Keep Brockton Beautiful Day" May 18, 2024 Had some helpers today as we worked at the Frederick Douglass Garden for the citywide “Keep Brockton Beautiful” event! Fairway Landscaping even brought a crew who donated their time to mow and trim the garden. So great seeing the kids and adults working side by side!

What, to the Slave, is the 4th of July? We read in many languages as one community. Funded by the generosity of MassHumanities, the Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Association has established and annual tradition of reading Douglass' speech "What is the Fourth of July to the Slave" in the three dominant languages of our city: English, Cape Verdean Creole, and Haitian Creole. In 2017 we also had readers translate and recite paragraphs in Italian, Polish, Lithuanian, Greek, Spanish, Gaelic and Mandarin Chinese to honor our ancestors. After reading in many langages as one community, our participants stayed for conversation and pie and lemonade in the community garden.

2023 Events and Activities April 2023 Our new mural on the avenue. So beautiful! May 2023 Restoration of the sycamore tree plaque by New England Brass Refinishing. Reading Frederick Douglass The Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Association holds its annual reading of Douglass' famous anti-slavery speech in Brockton on Saturday, July 8, 2023 MARC VASCONCELLOS/THE ENTERPRISE Post of Event

residents and volunteers who build community engagement in honor of the spirit of Frederick Douglass The Garden Our Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Garden is a space of inspiration in Downtown Brockton. Thank you to all who have helped and donated . Read More Events Reading Douglass 7.11.26 Frederick Douglass Bust Installed Annual Meeting 2025 Membership Our members embrace the Frederick Douglass Mission and work for unity and peace; educating on Frederick Douglass' life and teachings; in our corner of the world. Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Assocciation is a 501c3 registered non-profit. Learn more here We are Brockton residents and volunteers who honor the legacy of Frederick Douglass in our neighborhood through community engagement and the arts. /our story Our vision Events To view a brief slideshow that tells the story of the Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Association, click HERE.

/ join To join, volunteer, donate, or stay in touch, here's our contact information. Follow updates posted on this website and our Facebook page. Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Association The Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Association (FDNA) takes its name from America’s early civil rights leader and the street in Brockton named in his honor, which runs from Main Street to Warren Avenue in downtown. We believe that everyone deserves to live in a beautiful and vibrant neighborhood. We are an all-volunteer group of citizens who live, work and worship in the area around Frederick Douglass Avenue. We honor the legacy of Frederick Douglass and the threads in his life that are woven today within the diversity of our city through community education, engagement and the arts. Together, we work to enrich our neighborhood by : • Encouraging the beautification of our neighborhood through the arts and maintenance of the privately owned land currently used as a garden on Frederick Douglass Avenue; • Building appreciation for the history of Frederick Douglass, the Underground Railroad, and the connection of that history to the Brockton community of today; • Organizing social gatherings to build community; • Supporting local businesses by contributing to economic initiatives; • Serving as a forum and a facilitator for neighbors to convene on shared topics of concern to the area. Visit us or message us via Facebook HERE . EMAIL US at: fdnabrockton@gmail.com To learn more about us, you can watch our slideshow by following this link: Smilebox about FDNA To watch an innovative presentation about Frederick Douglass click here . Our thanks to all our members, supporters and volunteers, and of course to all of the great people of our City of Champions: Brockton, Massachusetts.

Program 4.12.18 The stage is set The presenters are ready Lynn Smith welcomes the audience Mayor Bill Carpenter Willie A. Wilson Jr Elenaor Wentworth/Susan B. Anthony Jean Derenoncourt/Haiti Adriano Cabral/Cape Verde Show More

Pathway to Justice - part of the Douglass Bicentennial Commemoration On August 20, 2018 The Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Association (FDNA) unveiled the “Pathway to Justice” art piece created by the students of the Summer WAVE Program. The WAVE program is a summer enrichment program under the auspices of the Brockton Area Workforce Investment Board (BAWIB) that provides the opportunity for youth who are 14 and 15 to volunteer and gain minor work experience on which to build. WAVE is an acronym that stands for Work-Achieve-Volunteer-Experience. The students researched civil rights icons from Douglass to Malcolm X to Ghandi to John Lewis, and then designed 30 12x12 concrete pavers with original artwork and words or phrases that capture the essence of the continuing struggle for the truth, justice and equality that Douglass fought for all his life. They then installed the pavers as a "Pathway to Justice" in the Douglass Community Garden. The BAWIB Youth One Stop Career Center offers universal access to a system of year-round workforce development programs for the region’s young adults. The site functions as a hub of high-quality employment, training, and supportive services to 14 to 24 year olds residing in the Brockton Service Delivery area. YouthWorks collaborates with social service agencies and private-employer partners to ensure positive, measurable outcomes.

FDNA tells our story in a 1917 PopUp Village in Brockton, MA.

/our vision We are Brockton citizen residents and volunteers who honor the legacy of Frederick Douglass in our neighborhood through community engagement and the arts. In May of 2004, a street in downtown Brockton, Massachusetts was renamed for Frederick Douglass, an orator, statesman, and abolitionist who had once been a slave. Some call him America's first civil rights activist. Not far away was the location of the stables of Edward E. Bennett. During the years around the Civil War, the stables were one stop of the Underground Railroad. At this location stood a sycamore tree which was the symbol of liberty for the slaves who hid in this building. It was also a place where great human rights activists such as Mr. Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, Lucretia Mott and Amelia Bloomer addressed the issues of the day. In 2004 the tree had to be cut down due to damage from a storm. A slice of that tree is on display at the Brockton Public Library. A clone of the tree was planted at the Brockton Historical Society Museum. In 2014, the 10th anniversary of the renaming of Frederick Douglass Avenue, our neighborhood association was born. Our mission in 2014 was to bring attention to the 10th anniversary by enhancing the community garden and hosting community events to bring neighbors together in celebration and unity. Our year was a great success, and you can enjoy those events on our 2014 in Review page. We are committed to organizing our neighborhood, effecting meaningful change, and honoring the legacy of Mr. Douglass and his connections to the ethnic diversity of Brockton today: he worked with Cape Verdean shipbuilders, served as Minister to Haiti, stood with Daniel O'Connell as Ireland fought for independence, supported Susan B. Anthony and women suffragettes , fought for equal pay for black soldiers during the Civil War, and is our inspiration as our country's first civil rights activist as our city and country struggle with modern issues of fairness, equality, and racial harmony. As Mr. Douglass once said, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress”. If you live, work, worship or play in our neighborhood, come join us ! Click here to learn about our "Stride Toward Freedom" project completed in 2015. "In conclusion, my dear young friends, be not discouraged. Accept the inspiration of hope. Imitate the example of the brave mariner, who, amid clouds and darkness, amid hail, rain and storm bolts, battles his way against all that the sea opposes to his progress. You will then reach the goal of your noble ambition in safety." — Frederick Douglass, Blessings of Liberty and Education, Manassas, Va., 1894

Years In Review Each Year our community grows. First the garden, now the street. First an annual event, now several a year. We learn, we build and we share. We are the Frederick Douglass Neighborhood. 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 Archives

IStride Toward Freedom, Together Our event on Sunday, September 20, 2015 was well attended, and well received. To view the two hour video of the event, follow this link to YouTube. We thank Brockton Community Access and videographer Michael Simmons for the recording, edited down by about 30 minutes to a two hour format to fit our local Brockton cable programming schedule. https://youtu.be/zXZLtvsyQyo * * * * * * * * * To learn more about the program, here is a narrative: What did Frederick Douglass learn from the leadership of Toussaint Louverture of Haiti? When Douglass visited Ireland in 1845 and stood next to Daniel O'Connell and experienced the poverty and struggle of the Irish people as they faced the great potato famine, what traits of nonviolent activism did they share? When Douglass lived in New Bedford, did he work with the skilled shipbuilders of Cape Verde, free and proud black craftsmen? What lessons did freedom fighter Amilcar Cabral learn and put into action from Douglass and O'Connell and Louverture almost 150 years later? As we negotiate the social contract today, who are the voices of equality? Who leads the fight against injustice? What qualities are critical in our leaders today? As income inequality, and racial conflict, and police interaction, and immigration issues dominate current events, how can we learn from these icons of nonviolent protest and masters of change? Professor Lee Farrow of Stonehill College, Charlot Lucien of the Haitian Artists Assembly, Dr. Joao Rosa of Bridgewater State University, and Willie A. Wilson Jr. of the Brockton Historical Society will be our guides during this exciting discourse. The program begins at 2 pm and ends at 4:30 pm with a networking reception that will include light refreshments. Our thanks to Mass Humanities, who funded the major cost of this event, the Just Checking In Foundation, the Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation, Mayor Bill Carpenter of the City of Brockton, Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School, Susie Q. Shaw, our Artist in Residence, and the volunteer/members of the Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Association for their support of our ongoing work in the community, and of this program.

An Evening with Frederick Douglass Speakers representing the diversity of Brockton join Mr. Douglass in the April 2018 program Douglass Bicentennial Display 2018 installation at the Brockton Post Office for the Bicentennial of Douglass' birth WAVE project Freedom Path of concrete art with social justice quotes installed by the youth of Brockton Ice Cream Sundae Sunday Dusty the therapeutic miniature horse joins in the festivities, August 2018 2017 Summer Sundae Social We learn about Frederick Douglass Having ie cream & meeting neighbors Delicious Reading Douglass in 12 languages Show More Our story in images 2013-2018