The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Anti-slavery campaigner celebrated
An exhibition about “revolutionary” anti-slavery campaigner Frederick Douglass is going on show at the National Library of Scotland to mark the 200th anniversary of his birth.
The display features letters, speeches and photographs loaned from the Walter O and Linda Evans Collection, which until now have never been seen by the public.
Frederick Douglass started life as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey when he was born into chattel slavery in Maryland in 1818. In freedom, his new surname was inspired by Sir James Douglas from Sir Walter Scott’s The Lady of the Lake.
He visited Scotland twice as he campaigned against slavery, first arriving in Edinburgh in January 1846.
Walter O Evans, a collector and conservator of African American art, history and culture, personally delivered the material to the library in August, and returns to Edinburgh later this week for the launch of Strike for Freedom: Slavery, Civil War and the Frederick Douglass Family.
Dr Evans said: “Douglass loved Scotland and I can think of no better place or time to exhibit this material than in Edinburgh on the 200-year anniversary of his birth.”
The display tells the story of Douglass as a private individual and family man. It also shows that Douglass was not alone in his journey to Scotland, and examines his work with Scottish antislavery societies. The exhibition opens tomorrow.