On February 13, the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) will host Douglass Day, a public event where students, staff, and community members are invited to transcribe digitized records from 19th-century Black history. The event will include singing “Happy Birthday,” sharing cake, and continuing transcription efforts.
“Douglass Day transforms the work of remembering into an act of resistance and renewal,” said Daina Ramey Berry, Michael Douglas Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts. “By transcribing the Colored Conventions, we enter a conversation across time with ancestors who refused to be erased. UC Santa Barbara is honored to serve as the institutional home for this global initiative, uniting our community to amplify the enduring demand for ‘All Rights for All.’”
The annual event combines archival work with public engagement. Jim Casey, assistant professor of English at UCSB and director of the event, said: “Douglass Day offers space for difficult conversations about hard histories, but we also want people to have a sense of these histories as moments of resilience and even joy.”
Since its start in 2017, Douglass Day has grown into a global effort involving schools, churches, and community centers that transcribe collections from Black history—often from the 1800s. Over its ten-year history, more than 1,000 events have taken place with around 46,000 participants. This year’s live broadcast will originate from UCSB.
Casey noted that Douglass Day is collaborative: faculty, staff, students from multiple universities participate alongside research partners such as Denise Burgher, Gabrielle Sutherland, Jenn Isasi and P. Gabrielle Foreman at Penn State. Undergraduate and graduate students like Eden Mekonen (Penn State) and Courtney Murray Ross (James Madison University) play key roles in leadership.
Now permanently based at UCSB with support from departments including English and Black Studies as well as the Multicultural Center and Library co-sponsors—the campus serves as headquarters for planning future events.
“UCSB Library is proud to partner with the Colored Conventions Project and our campus colleagues to co-host UCSB’s inaugural Douglass Day,” said University Librarian Todd Grappone. “This collaboration exemplifies how innovative digital scholarship and public engagement can advance the mission of both the library and the university. We hope this year’s events mark the beginning of a vibrant and enduring Douglass Day tradition at UCSB.”
The main gathering will take place in-person on February 13 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Multicultural Center Lounge at UCSB. Participants can use their own laptops or borrow one from the library while working through scanned documents using Zooniverse—a nonprofit online platform designed for crowd-sourced transcription projects.
“We welcome people who don’t work in archives or research libraries to immerse themselves in historical materials,” Casey said. “For a lot of participants, this is the first time they’ve ever encountered documents like these directly. It can be fun and captivating!”
Casey explained that accuracy is not the only goal; access matters too—inviting non-historians into direct contact with primary sources.
The program includes livestreaming so groups elsewhere can join simultaneously via video connection.
No special expertise is required; anyone may participate regardless of age or background. There are also K–12 curriculum resources aligned with classroom standards so teachers can bring transcription activities into schools.
This year’s focus is on documents related to Colored Conventions—a series of political gatherings by free or formerly enslaved African Americans between roughly 1830-1900 debating issues such as voting rights and education reform.
“It is one of the largest racial justice movements in American history,” Casey said. “Beginning around 1830 and continuing to around 1900, the Colored Conventions involved tens of thousands of free and formerly enslaved African Americans who gathered to debate voting rights, citizenship, education labor rights and more.”
He noted that relevant records are scattered across over one hundred libraries; collective transcription helps make them more accessible for research.
The theme “All Rights for All” draws attention to debates about citizenship following Reconstruction—especially concerning interpretations of Section One within the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees birthright citizenship along with civil rights protections under law.
Additional activities include a quilting workshop hosted by UCSB Library’s Makerspace on February 10 where participants create patchwork pieces inspired by themes discussed during Douglass Day; finished quilts will be displayed during main festivities.
Frederick Douglass chose February 14 as his birthday since he did not know his actual date—this tradition became part of early celebrations now evolving into Black History Month nationwide; performances accompany cake-sharing during each year’s observance at UCSB.
Online participation has expanded recently through informal baking contests shared on social media platforms featuring cakes decorated with historical themes or data visualizations reflecting group achievements.
