residents and volunteers who build community engagement in honor of the spirit of Frederick Douglass 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 Events Reading Douglass 7.11.26 Discussing Douglass 5.27.26 Frederick Douglass Bust Installed Annual Meeting 2026 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 Donate Paypal 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 Get In Touch First name* Last name* Email* Phone* Would you like to be involved ? "What to A Slave..." Reading Gardening History Discussions Creating Community Spaces in the Neighborhood? Questions? Comments? Submit Events To view a brief slideshow that tells the story of the Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Association, click HERE.

Our fall cleanup in October put the garden to bed for the season....but here are a few photos of the joy the garden gave us this year. See you in the Spring of 2018! 1/1

/ Douglass and Brocktonians Brockton is a city of diversity, whose cultural roots reach many parts of the world. Amazingly, many chapters in the life of Frederick Douglass intersect with those roots, and our knowledge of that history can help create common ground and pathways - first to understand, and then to address the political and social challenges of today. The Marin Independent Journal reported on the first celebration of National Negro History week in February 1950, in Marin City, CA. It became an annual event, and inspired the creation of two quilts. One of Harriet Tubman, and this one of Frederick Douglass giving his famous Fourth of July speech. The quilt was finished in 1953 by Bernice Vissman, Martha Johnson, Essie McKee, Detta Wright, Birdie Smith and Betty DePrado. From University of Louisville Archives and Records Center, Kentucky Quilt Project. Index, www.quiltindex.org CAPE VERDE: as a slave in Maryland, Frederick Douglass would gaze out at the ocean and sailing ships and dream of taking to the water and being free. He worked for several years as a caulker in the shipyards of Baltimore. When he finally made his escape, he put on the typical seaman’s clothes – a red shirt and tarpaulin hat and a black cravat, tied in a sailor’s knot. In this disguise, and with “borrowed” papers, he headed north by train to Philadelphia and settled eventually in New Bedford, Massachusetts. During the peak of the whaling industry, sailors and shipbuilders of all colors were paid well for their services. In the 18th and early 19th century, crews were drawn from men of many backgrounds, including many skilled tradesmen from the Azores and Cape Verde islands. According to a posting by the New Bedford Historical Society, “Cape Verdeans acquired old whaling ships....and eventually they came to own almost all that remained of the New Bedford fleet.” It is quite likely that Douglass worked alongside these Cape Verdean immigrants. It is also interesting that his first public speech in front of a white audience was give in 1841 in Nantucket, another major center of the whaling and shipbuilding industry. Many historians believe that this speech was the catalyst for Douglass’ brilliant speaking career. IRELAND : Frederick Douglass believed in equality for all - men, women, black, white, all people, whatever race or religion – and his experience as a slave spurred him on to travel the world promoting his beliefs. Douglass traveled to Ireland and Britain in the 1840s, arriving in Ireland in 1845 at the cusp of the devastating Famine. In total, he spent two years traveling around this part of the world, and one of the cities he visited was Waterford, in October 1845. Douglass spoke in the Large Room in the City Hall, on the evening of Thursday 9 October 1845, and it appears that he arrived in Waterford from Wexford on 8 October and left for Cork the day after his speech. VETERANS: President Lincoln called on Frederick Douglass to help enlist free black men into the Army during the Civil War. Two of the soldiers who served in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment - whose story was told in the movie "Glory" - were Mr. Douglass' own two sons. Mr. Douglass lobbied the President hard for equal pay for white and black soldiers. Colonel Robert Gould Shaw inspired his unit to conduct a boycott until this pay inequality was rectified. There is a memorial bronze relief sculpture to the 54th on Boston Common. WOMEN: When 300 women gathered in Seneca Falls, New York for the very first women's rights convention, Frederick Douglass was one of only 40 men to attend. The "Declaration of Sentiments" drawn up at that convention contained eleven resolutions and the ninth stated it was a woman's duty to secure the right to vote. In an editorial published that same year, 1848, in The North Star, he wrote: "....in respect to political rights..........there can be no reason in the world for denying to women the elective franchise." HAITI: Because of his service as Minister to Haiti, Frederick Douglass was invited to be the keynote speaker at the dedication of the Haitian Pavilion at the World’s Fair held in Jackson Park, Chicago, in 1893. This exhibition celebrated the 400 year anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ voyage, and is often referred to as the “World Columbia Exposition”. Two cities fought for the fair – New York and Chicago. A New York reporter wrote with disdain that the people of Chicago were so full of hot air promises that it was a “windy city” – and this phrase, originally meant as an insult, is used to describe Chicago to this day. CIVIL RIGHTS: One month after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, Frederick Douglass called this the first step towards healing a nation scarred by the institution of slavery. “The whole history of the progress of human liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her august claims have been born of earnest struggle. If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters.” “We are all liberated by this proclamation. Everybody is liberated. The white man is liberated, the black man is liberated, the brave men now fighting the battles of their country against rebels and traitors are now liberated… I congratulate you upon this amazing change—the amazing approximation toward the sacred truth of human liberty.” * * *

WE ARE EXCITED TO REPORT THAT WE HAVE BEEN HONORED WITH AN AWARD OF A $10,000 GRANT FROM MASS HUMANITIES!!!! The Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Association has a dream – and a plan - to enhance the community garden so it becomes a place of hope, a place of reflection, a place of peace, an oasis in a challenged section of the city. Most importantly, it should be a place for folks to learn how to connect heroes like Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. to the tapestry of cultures that live in Brockton today – Haitians and Toussaint L’Ouverture; Cape Verdeans and Amilcar Cabral; women and Susan B. Anthony; the Irish and Daniel O’Connell. In the early days of 2015 we worked diligently on a grant proposal and submitted it to Mass Humanities. As the spring started to melt this year's record snowfall, and warm the garden's ground, we were informed that we have been awarded $10,000!!! MassHumanities conducts and supports programs that use history, literature, philosophy, and the other humanities disciplines to enhance and improve civic life in Massachusetts. The 2015 MassHumanities thematic focus is on exploring how Americans participate in creating the basic social and economic relationships that shape our society – and the challenges to this process past and present. There are two major components of our "Stride Toward Freedom" Project - first, a community conversation about civil rights and justice and our role as citizens, and then art and signage in the Garden that reflects that conversation. This will be held on September 20, 2015, from 2 pm to 4:30 pm, at the War Memorial Building on West Elm Street in Brockton. Using the title of Dr. King’s 1958 book about the Montgomery bus boycott, “Stride Toward Freedom” our goal is to create a garden pathway so that visitors to the garden can walk the path of Douglass and King and learn from interpretive panels designed by different ethnic groups in our community. The meaning of freedom, equality, nonviolent civil disobedience, the transformative nature of education are all themes of the panels. Highlighting civil rights activists from other cultures, the ultimate goal of the garden’s pathway of footsteps is to inspire residents to learn more about the history and diversity of their city, how our freedom fighter icons are connected, and to encourage them to be actively engaged participants in our civic process. The Frederick Douglass Association is thankful to have the support and partnership of Mayor Bill Carpenter and the City of Brockton as we work on this exciting project. In addition, we are honored that Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School students, under the dedicated supervision of carpentry teacher Roy Blanchard, are already engaged in the building of the signs, and will assist in the installation. We could not accomplish this without the generosity of the owners of the land that hosts our garden, Mr. Robert Howard and Mr. Jimmie Thomas, members of Messiah Baptist Church. Donations have been received from the Just Checking In Foundation, and the Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation. Our scholars are Willie Wilson of the Brockton Historical Society and currently a teacher at Cardinal Spellman High School, Dr. Joao Rosa, professor at Bridgewater State University and Executive Director of the Pedro Pires Institute for Cape Verdean Studies; Charlot Lucien, founder and co-director of the Haitian Artists Assembly of Massachusetts; and Lee Farrow, Adjunct Professor and Community Scholar at Stonehill College. We look forward to working with our scholars, their students, our members, volunteers from the BAWIB WAVE program, Helping2Unite Brockton Clean-Up crew, and most importantly our friends and neighbors to make this program a success. The pathway will lead the visitor through the existing planting beds to the murals. Each will have a special QR code on it, so that visitors can go to a website and read the narrative in their own native language. We will also explore the use of a 1-800 call in number posted on the signs that will offer verbal descriptions of the panels to those who are visually impaired. One goal is that plants used in the garden will be reflective of those in the garden Mr. Douglass maintained at his home, Cedar Hill. The choice of building and hardscape materials must also keep the challenge of high durability and low maintenance in mind. The end result of our “Stride Toward Freedom” project will not only be a garden of information, reflection and quiet respite in the middle of a bustling and diverse city, but also a place where citizens can find common ground and be inspired to participate in the re-creation of a city that will be beloved by all. More about Mass Humanities: Massachusetts Foundation for Humanities and Public Policy, now simply known as Mass Humanities, was established in 1974 as the state-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). It is an independent programming and grant-making organization that receives support from the NEH and the Massachusetts Cultural Council as well as private sources. Visit www.masshumanities.org or contact Rose Sackey Milligan, Program Officer, at rsackey-milligan@masshumanities.org or at (413) 584-8440 ext. 101 / Stride Toward Freedom Project

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.

/ join First name* Last name* Email* Phone* Would you like to be involved ? "What to A Slave..." Reading Gardening History Discussions Creating Community Spaces in the Neighborhood? Questions? Comments? Submit To join, volunteer, donate, or stay in touch, here's our contact information. Follow updates posted on this website and our Facebook page. 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. 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. Visit us or message us via Facebook HERE .

2015 2015 Year in Review - highlights of events throughout the year Blessing of the Animals, October 4 A 20 minute open-air prayer service was held to honor 12th century St. Francis of Assisi. People of all ages were invited to bring teddy bears, pet photos, dogs, cats and all beloved creatures for this special event in the newly rejuvenated garden. Reverend Jill Wiley presided. Stride Toward Freedom, Together The Sunday, September 20, 2015 Program was funded by a Mass Humanities Grant : Fo more information, see our pages: Program And Grant Reading of Frederick Douglass, June 28 We gathered at our Liberty Tree in Brockton, where Mr. Edward Bennett, Brockton abolitionist, greeted the audience and told the story of his stable, which was a stop on the Underground Railroad in the mid 1800s. Mr. Douglass addressed the city at this very site, most likely while on a speaking tour for the Massachusetts Antislavery Society in 1841. Accompanied by songs performed by members of our Brockton churches, we walked from the Liberty Tree to the Douglass Garden where we read the speech in three languages familiar to our community: English, Haitian Creole, and Cape Verde Creole. The Massasoit Theater Company started us off, and then members of the audience read in the language each chooses. After completion of the communal reading, we enjoyed conversation, community spirit, and ice cream sundaes in the garden. Picket Fence Public Art Installation, August 25 The students in "WAVE": Work-Achieve-Volunteer-Experience, a program of YouthWorks and the Brockton Area Workforce Investment Board, dewsigned, painted and installed these welcoming gates to our garden in the summer of 2015. More pictures HERE . Spring Clean-Up, April 21 Members of the Brockton Boys and Girls Club joined with FDNA Volunteers in April of 2015 to rake up leaves, deadhead old plants, pull weeds, spread mulch, and get the garden ready for a busy year.

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

"The fence is installed for the Brockton Community to enjoy. Visit the Frederick Douglass Community Garden at 95 Frederick Douglass Ave to see this wonderful work of public art designed and installed by the YouthWorks Summer Jobs WAVE participants. We are very proud of our WAVE Team. Thank you for your time and dedication to serving our community this summer. Special thanks to Jimmy Palantzas, Stephanie Savas, Paul Landerholm, Mr. Nick and Mrs. Chris Palantzas." ................Krystel Love, Director of Youth Services, YouthWorks OneStop Career Center WAVE: Work-Achieve-Volunteer-Experience A program of YouthWorks and the Brockton Area Workforce Investment Board. Learn more at www.bawib.org You are invited Art Work in progress Expert installation help WAVE Rocks! Walking the fence through downtown Its new home in the community garden Looks good! Time out for lemonade Mayor Bill Carpenter approves

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.

2025 It was a blooming year! Our garden spilled over ... and now flowers can be seen all along the road. Discussing Douglass What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? We gathered in the Driscoll Art Gallery at the BrPL Main Branch to engage !!! Hosting our first "Discussing Douglass" meeting. We had a wonderful turnout with thought provoking stories and community conversations about Frederick Douglass and his famous speech "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?". Mayor Sullivan presented FDNA with their very own piece of the famous Liberty Tree in Brockton where Frederick Douglass made his speeches. This event was made possible in part with a grant from the Creative Impact Fund and Black Owned Brockton. Hope you will join us for the next "Discussing Douglass" event! Discussing Douglass “I Am a Radical Woman Suffrage Man” May 6, 2025 Driscoll Art Gallery BrPL Together, we reflected on the question: How can two people, raised the same way, end up with different rights? What’s changed — and what hasn’t? Our second "Discussing Douglass" event was a success! We were honored to be joined by State Representatives Rita Mendes and Michelle DuBois. Rep. Mendes shared exciting news: a $25,000 earmark for FDNA is included in the State Budget—pending approval! Gardening The garden near Paddy Lane is in full bloom! Many thanks to the volunteers and donations. Our garden is a respite of beauty in the middle of the city, thanks to you!! 🧤 Garden Meetups We’re organizing monthly garden days to keep everything looking great. Join us: 📆 Last Wednesday of Each Month at 5:00 PM Reading Frederick Douglass Together Saturday July 12, 2025 ~ In the Garden https://lightroom.adobe.com/shares/b0fecc8dbb754fc1aa5f583b281f4b61 Discussing Douglass The topic of our last “Discussing Douglass”event was Anna Murray Douglass, first wife of Frederick Douglass and a catalyst in his journey for freedom. She provided the foundation which made his work possible! Rev. Jill Wiley gave a powerful oration called “I Am Anna”. Willie Wilson gave an informative presentation, both of which sparked deep conversation among the attendees. The Liberty Tree Quilt provided a beautiful backdrop to the conversation. International Douglass Week Our members attended many of the events during Douglass Week (Sept 28-Oct 4). The organizers, Globe Lane Iniative, put together some fantastic activities in collaboration with the many historical groups across our region. Here are some photos of the historical walking tour of New Bedford that Willie Wilson and I attended, sponsored by Mass Humanities. Also in attendance that day was a descendant of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington! Kenneth B. Morris Jr. is the great-great-great-grandson of Frederick Douglass and the co-founder of the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives. He is also a descendant of Booker T. Washington, having both ancestors' legacies of anti-slavery and educational work. Morris has dedicated his life to advancing these legacies, and his organization works to end human trafficking and build strong children. It was a beautiful fall day! We were so proud that Globe Lane chose Boston as their 2025 location! ~ Cindy Click the link to see the schedule of events that were held. https://douglassweek.org/events2025

I Please join the City of Brockton's Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Association as we unveil, dedicate and celebrate our "Stride Toward Freedom, Together" Walkway and signs. The date is November 15, 2015. The panels will tell the story of four civil rights icons from around the world whose lives are connected to that of Frederick Douglass. Meet the artists, the scholars, and the students who have worked tirelessly to make this Walkway a reality. During the one hour ceremony we will hear about the history of the Avenue and the Underground Railroad in Brockton, the story of the fire at the Ardmore Hotel that once stood on this site, and the story of our four honorees. Most importantly, we will get to thank all of the volunteers, supporters and members who walk with us as we build common ground, community spirit, and pride in our neighborhood and our history. The garden is located on Frederick Douglass Avenue, which runs one way from Main Street to Warren Avenue. Parking lots are available on the street next to the garden for your convenience. The event will take place rain or shine.