Students and faculty members at Eastern Connecticut State University gathered in the Paul E. Johnson Community Conference Room of the J. Eugene Smith Library to participate in the annual nationwide Douglass Day “transcribe-a-thon” on Feb. 19. The event celebrated the writings and achievements of African American orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass and his contemporaries as well as the recorded achievements of African Americans.

“This is my first time attending Douglass Day, and it is great to contribute to the preservation and accessibility of history,” said senior history major Emma McCormack. 

Douglass Day was formally recognized on Feb. 14, and the event allowed thousands nationwide to access the writings of Frederick Douglass and other African Americans to transcribe their written works. According to Dean of Arts and Sciences Emily Todd, so many people were eager to participate that the transcribing server crashed. 

“That was both a bad technical difficulty and a great thing,” she said. “It’s wonderful knowing that so many people around the country wanted to preserve history.” 

History Professor Thomas Balcerski described the experience of unearthing history as magical and the process of transcribing as “catharsis,” explaining that a community gathering for a common cause is uplifting for both the preserver and the preserved. 

“It takes countless hours to do the work of history and transcription is so minutia-based,” said Balcerski. “When you're in the process of digging through history, it’s like you're in the forest and looking at the soil, but then you look up and realize that you're contributing to a massive archive with millions of words.” 

He continued: “We as historians are willing to put in the groundwork. We go to archives and spend days, weeks, sometimes months at these places, and when we're done we have to look up and acknowledge everything that we’ve accumulated. The best part is anyone can participate in this kind of work.” 

Senior sports and leisure management major Nathan Licitra explained that he had previously cultivated an interest in transcribing in a class he took with Balcerski. “It’s definitely still a challenge to look at cursive (handwriting), but it's cool to be able to get your hands on something from so long ago,” he said. 

Opportunity Programs Assistant Director Kolin Ebron concurred that the event was an excellent opportunity for Eastern to come together as a community to learn about Black history. 

“I think it's a great opportunity for people to come together and learn and spread awareness about the wonderful things that Frederick Douglass was a part of,” said Ebron. “I think it’s a great opportunity to build community among Eastern.”