On February 13, the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) will host Douglass Day, an event where students, staff, and community members gather to transcribe digitized records from 19th-century Black history. The event includes singing “Happy Birthday,” eating cake, and continuing the transcription work.
“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 event blends archival work with public participation in order to preserve Black histories and advance historical research. “Douglass Day offers space for difficult conversations about hard histories,” said Jim Casey, assistant professor of English at UCSB and director of the event. “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 become a global annual transcription effort focused on making digitized materials from Black history more accessible. This year marks its tenth anniversary. Participants—including schools, churches, and community centers—work together on collections often dating back to the 1800s. Over its history, Douglass Day has included over 1,000 events with approximately 46,000 participants.
Casey noted that faculty, staff, students from multiple universities contribute collectively to Douglass Day’s efforts. The initiative relies on collaboration rather than individual leadership and emphasizes student involvement. Notable contributors include Eden Mekonen (PhD student at Penn State) and Courtney Murray Ross (assistant professor at James Madison).
Now based permanently at UCSB, organizers are planning future events in partnership with groups such as the UCSB Library and co-sponsors from English and Black studies departments as well as the Multicultural Center.
“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 occur from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in UCSB’s Multicultural Center Lounge. After opening remarks by campus leaders, attendees will use their own or borrowed laptops to transcribe documents via Zooniverse—a nonprofit platform that assigns each participant scanned images for transcription.
“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!”
According to Casey, accuracy is not Douglass Day’s only goal; access matters equally—inviting those without formal training in history or research libraries into direct contact with original records.
The program will also be livestreamed so that participants can join simultaneous events elsewhere while feeling connected through shared activities.
No special background is needed; Douglass Day welcomes all ages and provides K–12 curriculum resources designed for easy classroom integration.
This year’s focus centers on documents related to Colored Conventions—major gatherings where free or formerly enslaved African Americans debated issues such as voting rights between about 1830–1900.
“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 offreeand formerly enslaved African Americans who gatheredtodebate voting rights,citizenship education,labor rights,and more.”
The relevant documents are distributed across more than one hundred libraries nationwide; Douglass Day aims tomake them more visibleand usable through crowdsourced transcription.
Withthe theme “All Rights for All,”thisyear’sproject drawsfromthe Reconstruction eraanddebates surroundingthe Fourteenth Amendment.Casey stated,“We needto understand whatthe Fourteenth Amendment actually means.”Participantsare encouragedto engagewithhistorical arguments madebyBlack communitiesaboutcitizenship,civil rights,and due process.The amendment guarantees birthright citizenshipandcivilrights protectionunder lawfor allpersons withinastate’s jurisdiction.
Additional programming includesa quilting workshoponFebruary10inUCSBLibrary’s Makerspace.Participantswill create patchwork pieces addressing themesofcitizenshipand civilrightsfor display atthemain event.
DouglassDay coincideswithFrederickDouglass’ birthday—as observed by him,since his exactbirthdatewas unknown—and contributedtothe creationofBlack HistoryMonth.Theeventhonorsthis traditionwithperformances,speakers,cake,and song alongsidearchival work.Recent celebrations have featured an online birthday cake contest highlighting creative designs inspired by Black historical figures orthetranscription process itself.AsCaseysaid,“It shows powerofcollective actions topreserveand celebrate these forgotten histories.”
