Norton to Speak at NPS Frederick Douglass Bicentennial Birthday Celebration at Cedar Hill National Historic Site, Tomorrow
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will speak at the opening of the official National Park Service (NPS) Frederick Douglass bicentennial celebration tomorrow, Saturday, February 17, 2018, at 10:30 a.m., at the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site (1411 W St. SE). NPS will host events throughout the weekend at the Douglass site and the Anacostia Arts Center (1231 Good Hope Rd. SE) to honor the life and legacy of Douglass.
Douglass spent most of his adult life in the District of Columbia and built his home at Cedar Hill in Anacostia. A Norton bill signed into law last year established a bicentennial commission to plan, develop and carry out programs and activities to honor and celebrate the life of Douglass. Norton was appointed by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to serve on the commission. A 2013 Norton bill placed a statue of Douglass in the Capitol to represent the District, making D.C. the only jurisdiction that is not a state with a statue in the Capitol.
"Frederick Douglass' home at Cedar Hill in Anacostia is one of the District's historic jewels, one of the few major tourist attractions that is not centrally located in the nation's capital, and the perfect place to kick off a weekend full of events to celebrate his 200th birthday," Norton said. "Douglass made D.C. his home and spent the later years of his incredible life fighting for D.C. residents to have the same rights as Americans who lived in the states. Residents showed their appreciation by voting to place a statue of Douglass in the Capitol as a gift from the District of Columbia."