Back to Study of the Legacy of Slavery Exhibits Online
The Legacy of Slavery Exhibit for the month of December showcases the
accomplishments of two prominent African American Marylanders, Frederick
Douglass and Reginald F. Lewis. Both came of age in the city of Baltimore,
though their stories are told generations apart. For Frederick Douglass,
we chose to highlight the first issue of one of his most famous publications,
The North Star. The first edition of this abolitionist newspaper rolled off
the presses in Rochester, New York on Friday, December 3, 1847, and was widely
distributed in the north, and among southern advocates for abolition.
For Reginald F. Lewis we chose to highlight his birthday, Dec. 7, 1842. Lewis
grew from the city streets of Baltimore into one of the great leaders in the
world of business during the seventies and eighties. Though his death in 1993
cut short his growing empire, his legacy is cemented in the city of his birth
through the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and
Culture, which is also shown below.
The North Star
Abolitionist Newspaper Founded By Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was born into slavery on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in
1818. As a young man he escaped from slavery and settled in Rochester, New York,
where he published the North Star and Frederick Douglass' Paper, worked to
assist other runaway slaves to find freedom and became known for his passionate
and eloquent speaking on the brutality of slavery. Through his newspaper he
reported on the anti-slavery movement to Northerners. He worked with such
abolitionists and social reformers as William Lloyd Garrison, Elizabeth Cady
Stanton, John Brown, and Gerrit Smith.
Maryland State Archives (MSA SC 3520-13800)
Critiques of The North Star
Frederick Douglass 1818-1895
From Frontpiece of My Bondage, My Freedom
New York Miller, Orton & Mulligan, 1855
"Used with permission of the University Library,
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill"
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The North Star First Edition
The North Star First Edition, December 3, 1847,
Rochester, NY (MSA SC 5557, M 13,053)
Editor Frederick Douglass/Martin R. Delaney Publisher William C. Nell
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Reginald F. Lewis
African American Entrepreneur
Reginald F. Lewis Biography
Birth Certificate of Reginald Lewis
Baltimore City Health Department Bureau of Vital Statistics
(Bith Record)
Dates 1942/11-1942/12, Description Nos. F62001-F65000
Accession No: CR 47,648, MSA No: CM 1135-274
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The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland
African American
History and Culture
Watercolor Design credited to RTKL/ Freelon A Joint Venture
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©
Copyright July 19, 2005 Maryland State Archives
