HC 1060: Concurrent Resolution Commemorating Frederick Douglass

• Indiana General Assembly commemorates Frederick Douglass, a former slave, abolitionist, and ambassador to Haiti regarded as one of the greatest orators in American history.

• Frederick Douglass was born into slavery around 1818 in Talbot County, Maryland, and celebrated his birthday on February 14; he married Anna Murray on September 15, 1838, and had five children with her.

• Douglass founded several abolitionist newspapers including The North Star and Frederick Douglass' Paper, published autobiographies describing his life in slavery, and was the only African-American to attend the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York.

• Douglass became the first African-American nominated for vice president of the United States in 1872 on the Equal Rights Party ticket with Victoria Woodhull, and after the Civil War served as president of the Freedman's Savings Bank and as chargé d'affaires for the Dominican Republic.

• Douglass Park in Indianapolis at 1616 East 25th Street honors his memory, and in 1928 the northern portion became Douglass Park Golf Course, the only golf course in the nation named for an African-American; the city celebrated his 200th birthday on February 16, 2018.