The internationally known abolitionist Frederick Douglass, himself formerly enslaved, delivered a speech about U.S. politics to an audience of several thousand at Poughkeepsie’s College Hill Park in August of 1858. Actor Paul Oakley Stovall, who portrayed George Washington in the first national tour of Hamilton, will recite parts of the speech in its original location. The event will open with a rousing procession around the College Hill Park Pavilion by Souls United of the Hudson Valley, an interfaith gospel choir, and the Center for Creative Education’s Percussion Orchestra of Kingston, a multicultural youth ensemble. The performance will follow immediately after. Parking available at the College Hill Golf Course. Cosponsored by the City of Poughkeepsie (Yvonne Flowers 5th Ward Councilwoman) and the Helen Forster Novy 1928 Fund at Vassar College. Stovall’s performance is supported by New York Stage and Film (NYSF) as part of its summer partnership with Marist and Vassar colleges.

www.celebratingtheafricanspirit.org