Museum presentation dives deep into Douglass

FREMONT — Join a living history presenter portraying Frederick Douglass — a former slave turned writer, orator, abolitionist and civil rights leader — for a conversation about the meaning of American democracy on Tuesday, May 12 in the historic Hayes Home on the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums grounds in Fremont. During this program, Nathan Richardson will portray Douglass, who was born into slavery in Maryland, and share how Douglass escaped bondage and became a public speaker, author and leader. Attendees will hear how Douglass' views on the U.S. Constitution and American democracy evolved and about his relationships with: • Suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony • Abolitionist and journalist William Lloyd Garrison • Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman • Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes and James A. Garfield Richardson will also take questions from the audience. Douglass and Hayes have ties during Hayes' years in the White House: Hayes appointed Douglass the U.S. marshal of Washington, D.C., and the two were friendly. In the Hayes Presidential collections are items of correspondence, including a telegram of condolence that Douglass sent to Hayes when First Lady Lucy Hayes died. The program will be appropriate for young audiences as well as adults. It's scheduled from 6-7:30 p.m. in the large parlor of the Hayes Home. Seating is limited, and tickets are required. They are available online at rbhayes.org. Discounts are available for children and members. Kids 5 and under are free.