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A gifted orator and prescient writer, the life and works of Frederick Douglass continue to shape our understanding of America and force us to reckon with the legacy of slavery.
local public readings, gather with your neighbors, and read the speech out loud from start to finish.
about the shared reading tradition and the power of gathering your community to reflect on historical texts.
new ideas about the life and legacy of Frederick Douglass while discussing current civic issues.
opportunities for yourself and others to bridge the past and present.
Applications for 2024 readings open on Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, and are awarded on the schedule listed below. Readings can take place anytime within 6 months after the award announcement date, provided the application demonstrates enough time to include Mass Humanities in publicity about the reading.
The grant period start date must be after the award announcement date. The event date should be at least 2-3 weeks after the award announcement date. For example, if a grantee wants to host a program on June 19, they will need to apply no later than the May 10 submission date.
| Application Deadline: | Grants Announced: |
| January 3, 2025 | January 20, 2025 |
| February 7, 2025 | February 24, 2025 |
| March 7, 2025 | March 24, 2025 |
| April 4, 2025 | April 21, 2025 |
| May 2, 2025 | May 19, 2025 |
| June 5, 2025 | June 23, 2025 |
Readings typically take place around between Juneteenth and the Fourth of July, but communities also host readings on other days of remembrance or significance.
In 2024, Mass Humanities invited grantees to host a reading during African American History Month and to commemorate the observance of Frederick Douglass’s birthday, both in February.
Mass Humanities has supported readings in town squares, community centers, churches, museums, libraries, and parks. We believe Douglass’ words belong in public spaces.
At each event, people take turns reading parts of the speech until it is completed. Each community considers the meaning of the speech in the past and its resonances in the present.
Annual Boston Common Reading
Each year Mass Humanities partners with the Community Change, Inc. of Boston, the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School, and the Museum of African American History to host a reading on Boston Common. Held near the monument to the 54th Regiment, the event attracts state legislators, students, and members of the public who take turns reading the speech.
Visit our Reading Frederick Douglass Together resources page to download:
After escaping slavery in 1838, Frederick Douglass, the famous abolitionist, lived for many years in Massachusetts. The most celebrated orator of his day, Douglass’ denunciations of slavery and forceful examination of the Constitution challenge us to think about the stories we tell and don’t tell, the ideas that they teach or don’t teach, and the gaps between our actions and aspirations. To quote Douglass: “We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the future.”
In addition to producing a signature event on the Boston Common, Mass Humanities also provides grants to organizations interested in hosting a local public reading, in which attendees gather to read the speech out loud from start to finish.
Organizations interested in hosting an event can propose any format for the reading and discussion that will foster a rich and productive community conversation.
Mass Humanities
66 Bridge Street,
Northampton, MA 01060
Mass Humanities
66 Bridge Street,
Northampton, MA 01060
